Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $12.84 Million Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,942 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 9,323 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.19% of Watts Water Technologies worth $12,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $49,199,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,690 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,560,000 after buying an additional 56,536 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $80,983,000 after buying an additional 40,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 75,779 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,453,000 after buying an additional 20,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded up $9.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $280.90. 36,739 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,209. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $255.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.59 and a 12 month high of $281.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.