Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,666 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,577 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.26% of Watts Water Technologies worth $17,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WTS. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 99.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 544 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $220.00.

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Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded up $2.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $215.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 155,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,578. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $232.60. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $207.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.