Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 3.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,223 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,778,000 after buying an additional 195,778 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1,070.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,324,000 after acquiring an additional 191,146 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,507,000 after purchasing an additional 87,900 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,794,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 106,183 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,000,000 after purchasing an additional 47,123 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WTS shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of 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 dropped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,557.60. This trade represents a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,463.60. This represents a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 2.1 %

WTS stock opened at $215.17 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $204.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $219.52.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

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.