John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Reduces Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,975 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $4,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,952 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,238,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $116,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,062 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,665,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 34,367 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,305,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.10, for a total value of $324,370.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,345,880.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total value of $470,371.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $601,578.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.10, for a total value of $324,370.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,204 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,880.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,753 shares of company stock worth $1,236,753 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTS. 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 price target on Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.50.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 3.3 %

WTS traded up $5.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $185.88. 145,726 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,847. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $200.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.87 and a 12-month high of $219.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.90.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 12.53%. The business had revenue of $570.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.20 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.34%.

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.