Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 3,371 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 61.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,826 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth $231,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 105.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,810 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,942,000 after buying an additional 27,138 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,272 shares of the technology company's stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% during the 3rd 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. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $197.32. 199,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 168,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $206.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $232.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. On average, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a 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.