US Bancorp DE Sells 4,894 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 52.6%, selling 4,894 shares, bringing its total ownership to 4,406 shares valued at approximately $898,000.
• Watts Water Technologies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with a scheduled payment date of September 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with three analysts giving it a "hold" rating, one a "buy," and another a "strong buy," resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

US Bancorp DE cut its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 52.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,406 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,894 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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. 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 valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $106,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WTS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. 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 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,754 shares in the company, valued at $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $262.67 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $249.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $269.66.

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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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 Company 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.

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