EULAV Asset Management Acquires 3,900 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

EULAV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,747 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management owned about 0.24% of Watts Water Technologies worth $16,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on Watts Water Technologies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.20.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $674,730. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total value of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,236 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold a total of 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of WTS traded up $5.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $255.08. The company had a trading volume of 49,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 173,255. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $238.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.48. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $255.80. The company has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 13.07%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 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.