DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Raises Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 59.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,939 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 10,741 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $5,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 12.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 881 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,951 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,160,000 after purchasing an additional 10,288 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $2,395,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $14,626,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $199.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.60.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $200.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.74. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.29 and a 12-month high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 18.41%.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.