Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,779 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,272 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Watts Water Technologies worth $4,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,025 shares of the technology company's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.4% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the technology company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 281 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,803 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WTS shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $191.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 have sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.0 %

WTS stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $201.50. 180,009 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 108,585. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.85 and a 52 week high of $219.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $203.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.23.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

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.