Arizona State Retirement System Trims Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,655 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,188,071 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $550,962,000 after acquiring an additional 29,113 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,128,516 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $358,272,000 after purchasing an additional 36,810 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 913,288 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $167,798,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 691,779 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $96,565,000 after buying an additional 139,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 691,138 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,065,000 after buying an additional 82,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 764 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $152,036.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,832,964. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $199.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research 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.com, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $190.60.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $200.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.29 and a twelve month high of $219.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $204.59 and a 200 day moving average of $195.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The business had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.41%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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.