Champlain Investment Partners LLC Has $85.80 Million Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 85.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 422,026 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 194,033 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $85,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $128,527,000 after buying an additional 44,465 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 323,007 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,598 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,996,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $60,887,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 284,602 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,860,000 after purchasing an additional 17,163 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $197.90 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $232.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $207.19 and its 200 day moving average is $207.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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.