Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,440 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,188,071 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $550,962,000 after acquiring an additional 29,113 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 592,018 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $102,313,000 after acquiring an additional 7,732 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 292,299 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,515,000 after acquiring an additional 18,213 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 264,438 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 184,615 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,905,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $209.01 on Wednesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.85 and a 1-year high of $219.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $204.76 and a 200-day moving average of $199.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.95.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 transaction of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, 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 valued at $1,023,106 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.20.

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.