Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Bought by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 85.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 194,033 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned 1.27% of Watts Water Technologies worth $85,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the 4th 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. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 366 shares of the technology company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 5.0 %

NYSE WTS traded up $9.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 182,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,602. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $205.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.98.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

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.