Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd reduced its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,875 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,276 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $534,000. Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 14,255 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,953,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,425,000 after buying an additional 8,314 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Port Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.5% in the third quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 228,918 shares of the technology company's stock worth $47,430,000 after buying an additional 14,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. This trade represents a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.1 %

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $217.91. 143,354 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,352. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $208.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $222.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WTS. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

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.