VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Raises Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 52.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,090 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $247,000. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 5.7% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 96.1% during the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 67,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,907,000 after acquiring an additional 33,179 shares in the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $726,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 113.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WTS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Barclays raised 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 report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.32, for a total transaction of $1,855,588.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,084,800. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 605 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.78, for a total value of $167,451.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,173.36. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 15,605 shares of company stock worth $4,296,387 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $276.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $611.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.79% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.47%.

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.