Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $822,000 Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,042 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $822,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 49,696 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,103,000 after buying an additional 4,933 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 55,475 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,449 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,002 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $293,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 39,235 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,977,000 after acquiring an additional 3,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,730. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,165 shares of company stock worth $3,074,168. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded down $3.81 on Wednesday, hitting $240.03. 27,629 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,734. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $248.17. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $209.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.