Amundi Trims Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. by 1.5%, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.51% valued at $32,937,000.
• Watts Water Technologies reported $3.09 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and indicating a 7.8% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with a payout ratio of 22.37% and a yield of 0.7%.

Amundi lowered its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,529 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,527 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.51% of Watts Water Technologies worth $32,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 78,159 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,938,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 124.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,273 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,950,000 after purchasing an additional 13,460 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,869 shares of the technology company's stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,690 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,560,000 after purchasing an additional 56,536 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total value of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $2.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $281.43. The company had a trading volume of 18,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,959. The stock has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.69. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.59 and a 12-month high of $285.90.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. Watts Water Technologies's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.