Perpetual Ltd Grows Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,817 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,449 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd owned approximately 0.18% of Watts Water Technologies worth $11,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in 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 valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the fourth 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. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,207 shares of the technology company's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,208 shares of the technology company's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 2.1%

WTS traded up $5.21 on Tuesday, hitting $251.10. The company had a trading volume of 155,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 173,279. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.12. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $254.14.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.20.

Watts Water Technologies 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.