Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 108.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of several analyst 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of Watts Water Technologies 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $4.4350 on Thursday, hitting $271.8250. 148,635 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 200,690. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $254.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.59 and a 12-month high of $279.16.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given 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 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.37%.

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.