Northern Trust Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp decreased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 2.6%, owning 387,915 shares worth approximately $79 million after selling 10,426 shares in the first quarter.
• Watts Water Technologies reported earnings per share of $3.09 for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.41, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.8%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, with the payout ratio currently at 22.37%.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 387,915 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,426 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.16% of Watts Water Technologies worth $79,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter worth $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $280.59 on Monday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.59 and a 1-year high of $281.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $256.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.72. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.The firm had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WTS. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

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.

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