Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Position Cut by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lowered its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,784 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,379 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $128,527,000 after buying an additional 44,465 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $85,798,000 after acquiring an additional 194,033 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after acquiring an additional 40,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 323,007 shares of the technology company's stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,598 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total value of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $242.38. 20,643 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,232. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $213.32 and its 200-day moving average is $211.39. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $248.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 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.