Congress Asset Management Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 99.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,152 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 519,178 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Impact Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.9% during the first quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,141 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $530,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 41.3% during the first quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 17,089 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,992 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,252,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 40.5% during the first quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 65,744 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,407,000 after acquiring an additional 18,942 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $674,730. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $244.74. The company had a trading volume of 248,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,942. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $248.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.