Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 369 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 331,099 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 369 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $67,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,950 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,410 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,541,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $206.26 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $232.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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.