First Trust Advisors LP Grows Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,546 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,239 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.69% of Watts Water Technologies worth $46,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 105.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,810 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,942,000 after acquiring an additional 27,138 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,117,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 16.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,312 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $55,411,000 after purchasing an additional 12,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings 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 worth $10,397,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $204.90. 16,621 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,744. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $232.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $204.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.