Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Stake Trimmed by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC cut its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,714 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,366 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned 0.12% of Watts Water Technologies worth $8,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth $68,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $220.36. 173,662 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,691. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $222.70. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $207.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.98.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 11,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,437,133.04. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total transaction of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,269,278.50. This trade represents a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Watts Water Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

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.