State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,957 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,188,071 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $550,962,000 after purchasing an additional 29,113 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $2,382,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 97.0% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 5,302 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 116.5% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 19,454 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after purchasing an additional 10,467 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 32.5% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,198 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,160,000 after purchasing an additional 4,463 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $202.32 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.29 and a twelve month high of $219.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $204.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.78.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $152,036.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,236 shares in the company, valued at $2,832,964. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WTS. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $199.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $190.60.

About Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.