Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by Robeco Schweiz AG

Robeco Schweiz AG lessened its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,793 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG owned approximately 0.21% of Watts Water Technologies worth $14,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $128,527,000 after purchasing an additional 44,465 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,798,000 after buying an additional 194,033 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 40,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in 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 during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of WTS stock traded down $3.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $254.40. 217,827 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,621. The stock's 50 day moving average is $241.59 and its 200-day moving average is $218.38. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the insider directly owned 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTS. Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on Watts Water Technologies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.20.

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.