Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $7.25 Million Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lowered its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,651 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,650 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.11% of Watts Water Technologies worth $7,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,730. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total value of $188,467.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,165 shares of company stock worth $3,074,168 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded up $1.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $242.71. 67,380 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,460. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 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 $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50 day moving average is $213.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.39.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

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.