ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Decreases Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 73.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,650 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,675 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company's stock worth $153,708,000 after buying an additional 30,688 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $128,527,000 after buying an additional 44,465 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 323,007 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,598 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,996,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $60,887,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $197.32. The company had a trading volume of 199,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,126. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $206.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.09. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year 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.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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.