Edgestream Partners L.P. Has $1.20 Million Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Edgestream Partners L.P. reduced its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 41.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $234.20.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.8%

Watts Water Technologies stock traded up $1.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $250.58. 149,490 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,859. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $245.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.12.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 13.07%. The business's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,730. This represents a 74.39% 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, 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 transaction of $1,692,950.00. 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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.