Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Acquired by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 59.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,939 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,741 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.09% of Watts Water Technologies worth $5,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $199.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $190.60.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS stock traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $202.32. 84,817 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,490. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day moving average is $204.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.78. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.29 and a 1 year high of $219.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The business had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 764 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $152,036.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,832,964. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 764 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $152,036.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,832,964. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.