Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd trimmed its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 57,307 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,699 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $20,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,668 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,832 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 34,579 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,038,000 after purchasing an additional 7,256 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,496,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 218,832 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,525,000 after purchasing an additional 97,115 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1,808.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,876 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,092,000 after purchasing an additional 26,415 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTS shares. Barclays increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price objective on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.3%

WTS stock opened at $351.58 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.00 and a 12-month high of $394.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $363.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.26.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The company had revenue of $763.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,828,579.85. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs and manufactures products that help manage the safety, efficiency, and quality of water in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial systems. Its offerings are used in plumbing, heating, water distribution, and drainage applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes backflow prevention devices, pressure regulators, safety and relief valves, water quality and conditioning equipment, leak detection products, drainage systems, and hydronic and HVAC components.