Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 33,329 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,210 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 33,329 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.27% of Watts Water Technologies worth $18,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock traded up $3.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $244.35. The company had a trading volume of 223,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,479. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $248.17. The firm's fifty day moving average is $208.48 and its 200 day moving average is $209.19.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. Watts Water Technologies's revenue 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58% decrease in their position. 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,960,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,754 shares of the company's stock, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.