Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 40,912 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 122.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,194 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,912 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.22% of Watts Water Technologies worth $15,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the technology company's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded up $16.05 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $224.80. 429,313 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,282. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $232.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $207.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. Equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 20.62%.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.