BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 52.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,917 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 14,279 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $500,804,000 after acquiring an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,887,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,798,000 after buying an additional 194,033 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,044,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $9,773,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.3%

WTS traded down $3.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $243.33. 172,773 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,944. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $248.17. The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The business's 50 day moving average is $209.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.