KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $1.82 Million Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 58.9% in Q1, owning 8,900 shares valued at $1,815,000.
• Insiders, including Monica Barry, sold a total of 15,768 shares of Watts stock valued at approximately $3.84 million in the last ninety days.
• Watts Water Technologies recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, up from $0.43, reflecting a 0.82% yield.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 58.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,900 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $500,804,000 after acquiring an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $85,798,000 after purchasing an additional 194,033 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after purchasing an additional 40,738 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $60,887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $234.20.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of WTS stock traded down $0.54 on Monday, hitting $252.24. 181,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 193,288. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.12. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $246.02 and a 200 day moving average of $222.27.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is presently 23.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,530,314.40. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.