Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Holdings Decreased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its Watts Water Technologies stake by 9.4% in the second quarter, selling 4,651 shares and retaining 44,654 shares valued at approximately $17.48 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.02% of the company.
• Watts Water Technologies reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, beating estimates of $3.34, while revenue rose 18.6% year over year to $763.1 million, above expectations.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with five Buy ratings and six Holds producing a consensus Hold rating and a $367.70 price target. Shares opened at $387.18, near their 12-month high, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 9.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,654 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,651 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.13% of Watts Water Technologies worth $17,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $100,627,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $68,276,000 after purchasing an additional 165,837 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% during the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,989,000 after purchasing an additional 140,500 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 223.0% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 202,250 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $56,484,000 after purchasing an additional 139,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 282,830 shares of the technology company's stock worth $78,067,000 after buying an additional 125,218 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,668.82. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $374.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.6%

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $387.18 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.00 and a 12 month high of $394.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.15. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $350.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $321.30.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $763.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $725.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

About Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company's product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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