First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 545,404 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,381 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.64% of Watts Water Technologies worth $158,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 907,336 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $253,211,000 after purchasing an additional 19,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 832,148 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $229,721,000 after acquiring an additional 25,501 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 522,624 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $144,261,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 34.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 469,508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $131,124,000 after purchasing an additional 120,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,627,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $358.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $317.00 to $414.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $345.30.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of WTS opened at $342.90 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.06 and a twelve month high of $394.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $334.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $123,232.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,668.82. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

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.