Champlain Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 227,993 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 227,993 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $47,238,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.68% of Watts Water Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 157.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 25,006 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,181,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company's stock worth $65,556,000 after buying an additional 9,148 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $302,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,068,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 96,428 shares of the technology company's stock worth $19,979,000 after buying an additional 21,214 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS traded up $4.37 on Friday, reaching $215.17. The company had a trading volume of 160,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,293. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $219.52. The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.90. The company's fifty day moving average is $204.72 and its 200 day moving average is $197.73. 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 (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued 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 is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,437,133.04. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.