Bessemer Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 74.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 856 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,472 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 12.0% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,134 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% in the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,989,000 after acquiring an additional 140,500 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth about $206,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 96,833.3% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,080 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,442,000 after buying an additional 29,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,595 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total transaction of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at $561,668.82. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $358.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays raised Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $317.00 to $414.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $345.30.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.0%

WTS stock opened at $344.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.72. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $250.63 and a one year high of $394.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $335.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.80.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.