Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,028,066 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 61,785 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.09% of Watts Water Technologies worth $617,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $500,804,000 after acquiring an additional 386,333 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,798,000 after acquiring an additional 194,033 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $23,044,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,690 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,560,000 after acquiring an additional 56,536 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after acquiring an additional 40,738 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $271.23. The stock had a trading volume of 156,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,480. The firm has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $253.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.59 and a 52 week high of $278.20.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

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.