Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Grows Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 141.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,105 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,163 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,121 shares of the technology company's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 68,748 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,976,000 after buying an additional 15,938 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 22,703 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Petros Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $256,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 61.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 8,826 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:WTS traded down $3.83 on Monday, hitting $193.21. The stock had a trading volume of 17,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,098. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $206.41 and its 200 day moving average is $207.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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.