Citigroup Inc. Purchases 13,565 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS – Get Rating) by 159.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,056 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 13,565 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 80.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 184 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 256.3% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 310 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 28.5% in the third quarter. FourThought Financial LLC now owns 370 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.09, for a total transaction of $1,155,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,622,520. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.09, for a total transaction of $1,155,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,622,520. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total transaction of $2,490,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,811,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,989 shares of company stock valued at $5,508,923. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $165.57 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.31 and a fifty-two week high of $181.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.30. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.56.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The technology company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.29. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The business had revenue of $471.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $473.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WTS shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $144.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $174.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.57.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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Watts Water Technologies, Inc engages in the manufacture and provision of products for water conservation, safety, and flow control. It operates through the following geographic segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Its services include plumbing and flow control solutions, water quality and conditioning, water reuse and drainage, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and municipal waterworks.