Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Purchased by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,816 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,050,215 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $375,948,000 after acquiring an additional 29,473 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 715,674 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $131,233,000 after purchasing an additional 15,462 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 587,538 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,738,000 after purchasing an additional 6,742 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,778,000 after purchasing an additional 195,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the first 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 period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,463.60. This trade represents a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on WTS shares. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 2.1 %

WTS stock opened at $215.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $219.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.81.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

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.