Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Acquired by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,311 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,718 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $17,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $100,627,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,276,000 after acquiring an additional 165,837 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% during the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,989,000 after acquiring an additional 140,500 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 223.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 202,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $56,484,000 after acquiring an additional 139,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 79.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 282,830 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,067,000 after acquiring an additional 125,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $342.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.06 and a 1 year high of $394.54. The company has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $334.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.35.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTS. Barclays raised Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $317.00 to $414.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $345.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,668.82. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.