Venturi Wealth Management LLC Makes New $598,000 Investment in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 2,062 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at $561,668.82. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $379.00 target price on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $358.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.44.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $358.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.77 and a 12 month high of $375.89.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.