California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 37,958.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,479,817 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,447,026 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.37% of Watts Water Technologies worth $4,885,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 907,336 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $253,211,000 after buying an additional 19,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 832,148 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $229,721,000 after acquiring an additional 25,501 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 545,404 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,325,000 after acquiring an additional 34,381 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 522,624 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $144,261,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 469,508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $131,124,000 after purchasing an additional 120,090 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $374.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $367.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,579.85. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:WTS opened at $356.60 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $361.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.00 and a 12 month high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $763.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.99 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.09 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.