Legal & General Group Plc Sells 8,040 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,040 shares and leaving it with 110,812 shares valued at about $30.6 million.
• Watts Water Technologies reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.04 versus the $2.72 consensus and revenue of $677.3 million, up 21.4% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, payable June 15, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $329.44.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,812 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 8,040 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.33% of Watts Water Technologies worth $30,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 3,058 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 623 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 13,000 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,588,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 659 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,950,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.8%

WTS stock opened at $308.62 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $298.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $295.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $237.15 and a 1-year high of $345.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.20.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The business had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $638.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 19.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,668.82. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,697,863. The trade was a 20.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,738 shares of company stock worth $1,125,138. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings cut Watts Water Technologies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $317.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $267.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $329.44.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

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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