Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Stake Trimmed by Boston Partners

Boston Partners lessened its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 888,089 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 17,694 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 2.66% of Watts Water Technologies worth $218,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 156.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter worth $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at $64,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 39.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.65, for a total value of $1,948,878.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,621.90. This trade represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,000 shares of company stock worth $4,128,936. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $277.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.17. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.59 and a 12-month high of $287.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $275.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.51.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $611.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Watts Water Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 21.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WTS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.25.

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.