Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS – Get Rating) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 638,780 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,541 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.92% of Watts Water Technologies worth $93,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 12.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 881 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,951 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,160,000 after acquiring an additional 10,288 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,395,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,626,000. 74.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $174.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $144.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.09, for a total transaction of $1,155,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,622,520. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.09, for a total transaction of $1,155,630.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,622,520. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 15,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total transaction of $2,490,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,811,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,989 shares of company stock valued at $5,508,923. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $165.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $163.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.30. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.31 and a 52-week high of $181.40. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The technology company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.29. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The company had revenue of $471.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $473.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.38%.

About Watts Water Technologies

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Watts Water Technologies, Inc engages in the manufacture and provision of products for water conservation, safety, and flow control. It operates through the following geographic segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Its services include plumbing and flow control solutions, water quality and conditioning, water reuse and drainage, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and municipal waterworks.