Edgestream Partners L.P. Trims Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Edgestream Partners L.P. cut its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 41.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,870 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,140 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 53,900 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,958,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 44,201 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,208 shares of the technology company's stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the technology company's stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:WTS traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $251.00. 243,178 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,845. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.59 and a 1 year high of $260.93. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $245.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.59%. Watts Water Technologies's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 23.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $674,730. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.20.

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.