Woodline Partners LP Sells 10,887 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Woodline Partners LP decreased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 33.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,228 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,887 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.06% of Watts Water Technologies worth $4,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 366 shares of the technology company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $241.07. 25,864 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,257. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $248.17. The firm has a market cap of $8.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $213.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The business 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 business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. 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 yield of 0.86%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is presently 23.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.