SEB Asset Management AB Purchases Shares of 16,806 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,806 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,879,000. SEB Asset Management AB owned approximately 0.05% of Watts Water Technologies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,627,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% during the 2nd 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. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% during the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,989,000 after purchasing an additional 140,500 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 223.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 202,250 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $56,484,000 after purchasing an additional 139,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 282,830 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,067,000 after buying an additional 125,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $358.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $317.00 to $414.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $345.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the sale, the director owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at $561,668.82. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $679,357.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.0%

WTS stock opened at $341.36 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.14. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.06 and a 12 month high of $394.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $334.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.