Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 7,700 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,604,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 184 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.8 %

WTS stock opened at $203.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $203.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.92. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.29 and a fifty-two week high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 764 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,832,964. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,832,964. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.20.

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.