Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 2,612 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,742 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,612 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,025 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 6.4% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 34,277 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,141,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 281 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:WTS opened at $210.19 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.85 and a 52 week high of $219.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $204.57 and its 200-day moving average is $199.35. The firm has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.61.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,865.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $152,036.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,832,964. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTS shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.20.

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.