Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 7,600 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 84.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,423 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,600 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 30.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 338 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $200.25.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,269,278.50. This trade represents a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,356,749. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $0.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $215.44. 117,698 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,908. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $221.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.92.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 20.62%.

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.