Cetera Investment Advisers Lowers Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 39.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,211 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 791 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 30,624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,224,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 229,546 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,667,000 after buying an additional 14,239 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 44,966 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,141,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $421,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 14,812 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after buying an additional 4,433 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.9%

WTS opened at $271.1140 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $255.47 and its 200-day moving average is $229.87. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $279.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The company had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.50.

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.