Natixis Advisors L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 54,472 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,670 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $11,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,188,071 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $550,962,000 after purchasing an additional 29,113 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 592,018 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $102,313,000 after acquiring an additional 7,732 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 292,299 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,515,000 after acquiring an additional 18,213 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 264,438 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 184,615 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,905,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.20.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total transaction of $65,112.39. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,400.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WTS stock opened at $209.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.85 and a fifty-two week high of $219.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $204.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.61. The stock has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.95.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $532.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

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.