Deutsche Bank AG Grows Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,475 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,449 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.17% of Watts Water Technologies worth $11,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 366 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,960,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 29.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,165 shares of company stock worth $3,074,168 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.4%

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $3.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $240.34. The stock had a trading volume of 18,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,964. The business's 50 day moving average price is $209.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $248.17. The company has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. Watts Water Technologies's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.