Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases Shares of 52,015 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 52,015 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $10,792,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.16% of Watts Water Technologies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,050,215 shares of the technology company's stock worth $375,948,000 after acquiring an additional 29,473 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 715,674 shares of the technology company's stock worth $131,233,000 after buying an additional 15,462 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 587,538 shares of the technology company's stock worth $107,738,000 after buying an additional 6,742 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company's stock worth $107,778,000 after purchasing an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WTS traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $215.67. The company had a trading volume of 40,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,803. The stock 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 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.69. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $221.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, 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 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,269,278.50. This represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. This represents a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 over the last three months. 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.