Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 12,209 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 51.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,375 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 12,209 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $1,366,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $1,238,000. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,555 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,121,000 after buying an additional 28,170 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $2,897,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 44,840 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,348,000 after buying an additional 15,901 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTS shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total value of $58,567.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,237.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total value of $58,567.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,755 shares in the company, valued at $512,237.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total value of $316,623.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,132,302.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 3.6 %

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $190.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $199.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.50. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $171.14 and a one year high of $219.52. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Watts Water Technologies 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.