Strs Ohio Sells 600 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,900 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,681 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,025 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 184 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.4% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $203.21 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.94. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $156.29 and a one year high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total transaction of $65,112.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at $473,400.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Watts Water Technologies news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,865.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,400.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WTS. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.20.

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.