3,587 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,750 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,587 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $6,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 545,404 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,325,000 after purchasing an additional 34,381 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $63,525,000 after purchasing an additional 97,115 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 135,140 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,230,000 after buying an additional 49,960 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 133,817 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,846,000 after buying an additional 23,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 8,421.5% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 104,815 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,030,000 after buying an additional 103,585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS opened at $357.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $355.41 and a 200-day moving average of $333.73. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.96 and a 52-week high of $394.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.26. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 16.00%. The business had revenue of $728.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $692.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $425.00 to $424.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $430.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $417.00 to $397.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,828,579.85. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures products that help control the safety, flow, and quality of water in plumbing, heating, and water-treatment systems. Its products serve residential, commercial, and industrial applications. The company’s offerings include backflow preventers, valves, water pressure regulators, drainage products, water-quality and treatment systems, and controls for heating and hot-water applications. It also provides solutions for water reuse and other water-management needs.