Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 513,529 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,569 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 1.54% of Watts Water Technologies worth $104,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $128,527,000 after buying an additional 44,465 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $85,798,000 after buying an additional 194,033 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after buying an additional 40,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company's stock worth $64,996,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on Watts Water Technologies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.20.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WTS traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $241.08. The stock had a trading volume of 221,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,527. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $226.20 and its 200 day moving average is $214.46. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $248.17. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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 predict 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 was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 23.83%.

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.