State of Michigan Retirement System Has $1.21 Million Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,595 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $125,904,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 447,955 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after purchasing an additional 29,468 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 338,378 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $71,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 295,748 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,616,000 after purchasing an additional 38,110 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 295,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,583,000 after buying an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $194.50 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $167.87 and a twelve month high of $219.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.35.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The technology company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.13. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $597.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total value of $58,567.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,237.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total value of $58,567.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,755 shares in the company, valued at $512,237.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total transaction of $316,623.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,132,302.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

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.