Vest Financial LLC Invests $3.25 Million in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,945 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,252,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,950 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,410 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,541,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,208 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,960,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,754 shares in the company, valued at $674,730. The trade was a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,165 shares of company stock worth $4,767,118. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE WTS traded up $3.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $244.44. 123,419 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,216. The company has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $248.17. The company's 50-day moving average is $217.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.90. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS 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 business had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is presently 23.83%.

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.