KBC Group NV Cuts Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 12.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,868 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 41,801 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.85% of Watts Water Technologies worth $69,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 18.5% in the second quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 77,892 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,164,000 after acquiring an additional 12,148 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $259,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $802,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 210.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 57,901 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,807,000 after buying an additional 39,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:WTS opened at $275.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.17. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $177.59 and a one year high of $287.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $611.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.Watts Water Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Watts Water Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.25.

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.