Tidal Investments LLC Sells 1,093 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Tidal Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,219 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,093 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,950 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the technology company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,410 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,541,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the technology company's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded down $3.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $240.81. 202,382 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,675. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $248.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $212.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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 declared 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 is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 23.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,960,000.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.