Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases New Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,026 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $500,804,000 after acquiring an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $128,527,000 after purchasing an additional 44,465 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,798,000 after acquiring an additional 194,033 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after buying an additional 40,738 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 323,007 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,598 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:WTS traded down $3.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $243.33. 172,773 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,944. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G 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 twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $248.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $209.23 and a 200 day moving average of $209.77.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders 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 a boost 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 0.85%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 74.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the transaction, the insider now 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,165 shares of company stock worth $3,074,168. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

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.