Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,144 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,214 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.38% of Watts Water Technologies worth $31,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 156.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $77,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS stock opened at $277.71 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $275.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.59 and a 12-month high of $287.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 21.47%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.65, for a total transaction of $1,948,878.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,621.90. This represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock worth $4,128,936. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.25.

Watts Water Technologies 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.