Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 40,738 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.20% of Watts Water Technologies worth $80,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $55,411,000 after acquiring an additional 12,159 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,608 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,558,000 after buying an additional 8,728 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,507 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,779,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 264.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 4,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $214.98 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $232.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. On average, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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