ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 48.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,734 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 41,632 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Watts Water Technologies worth $9,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 366 shares of the technology company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

WTS stock traded down $6.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $237.78. The stock had a trading volume of 239,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,572. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $248.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.00.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. Watts Water Technologies'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 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 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 is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WTS. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report 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 company 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

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.