Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,409 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $62,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTS. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total value of $316,623.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,132,302.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total value of $316,623.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,132,302.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,684 shares of company stock worth $7,241,218 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:WTS opened at $210.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $219.52. The stock has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.31.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.25.

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.