Bank of America Corp DE Has $29.42 Million Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,685 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 26,115 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.43% of Watts Water Technologies worth $29,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $128,527,000 after acquiring an additional 44,465 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $85,798,000 after acquiring an additional 194,033 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $80,983,000 after acquiring an additional 40,738 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 323,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,165 shares of company stock worth $3,074,168 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $244.35 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $248.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $208.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.27.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.83%.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.