4,042 Shares in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,042 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $822,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTS. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,950 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,410 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,541,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the technology company's stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,208 shares of the technology company's stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the technology company's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total value of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $242.42. The stock had a trading volume of 220,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,754. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $248.17. The business's 50 day moving average is $214.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

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.