Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $15.82 Million Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 24.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,370 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 24,525 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Watts Water Technologies worth $15,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,918 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,634,000 after purchasing an additional 6,255 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $66,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 5.4% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,266 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.9% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,511 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,809,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 25.6% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 137,173 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,156,000 after buying an additional 27,929 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded down $0.94 on Friday, reaching $211.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 148,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,840. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $219.52. The company has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.56.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Three research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,269,278.50. This represents a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,356,749. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,684 shares of company stock worth $7,241,218. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.