Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,810 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,708 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 5,879 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 42,655 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 29.5% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, North Growth Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 41,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,431,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at $3,269,278.50. This represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,356,749. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $215.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $204.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 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 Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

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.