PFW Advisors LLC Makes New $233,000 Investment in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,144 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WTS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,148 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,411,000 after acquiring an additional 12,159 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.9% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,555 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,121,000 after acquiring an additional 28,170 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,425,000 after acquiring an additional 8,314 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares in the company, valued at $2,437,133.04. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $331,318.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,463.60. This trade represents a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 2.2 %

WTS stock traded up $4.36 on Monday, hitting $199.64. 123,727 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 116,538. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $209.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.30. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $222.70. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.