ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,311 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,952 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Watts Water Technologies worth $8,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Congress Asset Management Co. MA purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $125,904,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,513,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,284,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1,826.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 59,310 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,606,000 after buying an additional 56,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $10,866,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $442,011.01. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,850,335.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.10, for a total transaction of $324,370.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,345,880.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $442,011.01. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,850,335.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,753 shares of company stock valued at $1,236,753. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WTS. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.50.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WTS stock traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $196.53. 166,708 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,187. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.87 and a 52 week high of $219.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $194.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.02. 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 (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $570.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.34%.

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.