Barclays PLC Increases Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,748 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,938 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.21% of Watts Water Technologies worth $13,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,616 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 16.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,312 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company's stock worth $55,411,000 after buying an additional 12,159 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 51,058 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,397,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 lifted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WTS traded down $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $207.09. 21,287 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,168. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $232.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.98.

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

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.