Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 235.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,679 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,046 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.11% of Watts Water Technologies worth $7,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,188,071 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $550,962,000 after acquiring an additional 29,113 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,128,516 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $358,272,000 after acquiring an additional 36,810 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 913,288 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $167,798,000 after acquiring an additional 4,499 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 691,779 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $96,565,000 after acquiring an additional 139,042 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 691,138 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $101,065,000 after acquiring an additional 82,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,994,865.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total transaction of $65,112.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $199.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $190.60.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:WTS traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $212.55. The company had a trading volume of 109,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 119,587. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.25 and a 52-week high of $219.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $203.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.11. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $532.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.41%.

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.