Two Sigma Advisers LP Lowers Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lessened its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 44.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,100 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,996,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,608 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,558,000 after buying an additional 8,728 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,507 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,779,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,716,000 after buying an additional 7,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 75,847 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,420,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded up $1.60 on Thursday, reaching $241.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 156,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,530. The company has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $216.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.45. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $248.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is an increase 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.83%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 2,754 shares in the company, valued at $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,165 shares of company stock worth $4,767,118 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.