Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Stock Position Lifted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,352 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Andina Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the technology company's stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 6,424 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTS shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $200.25.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $331,318.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. The trade was a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $215.79. 79,184 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,309. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $206.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.69. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $221.19.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $541.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

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.