Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Purchased by E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 41.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,089 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,992 shares during the quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB owned 0.05% of Watts Water Technologies worth $3,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 366 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $106,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the business'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,165 shares of company stock worth $4,767,118. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS opened at $244.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $248.17.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.83%.

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.

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