Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $1.32 Million Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,344 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 14.8% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,475 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $395,000. Freedom Day Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,502,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 33.8% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 16,326 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after buying an additional 4,127 shares during the period. Finally, Olympiad Research LP acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $269,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.20.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE WTS opened at $201.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.94. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.85 and a 52 week high of $219.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $203.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.