Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 61.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,491 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,538 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $4,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 23,567 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,657 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 70,333 shares of the technology company's stock worth $19,396,000 after purchasing an additional 16,257 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the technology company's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 33,932 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC assumed coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $339.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $267.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $331.67.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on WTS
Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance
NYSE WTS opened at $293.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.85 and a 1-year high of $345.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $303.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.37.
Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $625.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $610.40 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 13.98%.The company's revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.
Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 20.45%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 332 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.70, for a total value of $100,164.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $667,360.40. The trade was a 13.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 16,066 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.31, for a total value of $5,258,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,202 shares in the company, valued at $62,582,326.62. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,674 shares of company stock worth $9,669,838. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Watts Water Technologies
(
Free Report)
Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.
The company's product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.
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