BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 7,973 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,196 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,973 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.08% of Watts Water Technologies worth $5,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,484,000 after acquiring an additional 4,967 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company's stock worth $65,556,000 after acquiring an additional 9,148 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,555 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,121,000 after acquiring an additional 28,170 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $2,897,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,507,000 after acquiring an additional 87,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded up $0.40 on Wednesday, hitting $214.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,601. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.68. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $221.19. The company has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $541.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 20.62%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.