Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 364,565 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,627,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. Cartenna Capital LP purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,478,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,276,000 after buying an additional 165,837 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 223.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 202,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $56,484,000 after buying an additional 139,637 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 469,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $131,124,000 after buying an additional 120,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2,609.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 81,743 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,563,000 after buying an additional 78,726 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $358.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.44.
Watts Water Technologies Price Performance
NYSE:WTS opened at $314.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $300.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.92. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $237.72 and a 1-year high of $345.17.
Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.
Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies
In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,697,863. The trade was a 20.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,668.82. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,738 shares of company stock valued at $1,125,138. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Watts Water Technologies
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.
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