Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 5,788 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,486 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,788 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.17% of Watts Water Technologies worth $15,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth about $80,386,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $50,400,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,276,000 after purchasing an additional 165,837 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2,366.7% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 153,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,691,000 after purchasing an additional 147,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 804,050 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $197,728,000 after buying an additional 138,034 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.32, for a total value of $1,855,588.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,084,800. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.78, for a total transaction of $167,451.90. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,173.36. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 15,605 shares of company stock valued at $4,296,387 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $282.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $274.89 and a 200-day moving average of $268.09. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $287.89.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $611.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.79% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.47%.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.