Gotham Asset Management LLC Sells 172 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Gotham Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,667 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $339,000 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 business. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 105.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,810 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,942,000 after buying an additional 27,138 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $357,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 52,368 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,646,000 after acquiring an additional 4,040 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,730. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $243.33 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $209.97 and its 200 day moving average is $210.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $248.17. The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

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.