US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS – Free Report) by 192.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,592 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,287 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,513,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,188,071 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $550,962,000 after acquiring an additional 29,113 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 235.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 35,679 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,433,000 after acquiring an additional 25,046 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 54,472 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,347,000 after buying an additional 20,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 292,299 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,515,000 after acquiring an additional 18,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have recently commented on WTS. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.50.
View Our Latest Analysis on WTS
Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies
In other news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $442,011.01. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,226 shares in the company, valued at $2,850,335.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,273 shares of company stock worth $1,543,961 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.6 %
WTS opened at $198.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.48. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.85 and a twelve month high of $219.52. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.95.
Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $570.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.87%.
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.
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Source: defenseworld.net
