AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Buys 18,942 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 40.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,744 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,942 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.20% of Watts Water Technologies worth $13,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company's stock worth $64,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,608 shares of the technology company's stock worth $14,558,000 after purchasing an additional 8,728 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,507 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,716,000 after purchasing an additional 7,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 75,847 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,420,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,165 shares of company stock worth $4,767,118. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE WTS traded up $3.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $244.03. 48,408 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,693. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $248.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.65.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.