Mirova US LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Mirova US LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 748,328 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,344 shares during the quarter. Watts Water Technologies accounts for approximately 1.9% of Mirova US LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Mirova US LLC owned 2.24% of Watts Water Technologies worth $184,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,140 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $503,711,000 after acquiring an additional 6,765 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $184,708,000 after acquiring an additional 273,628 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 321,343 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 299,956 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,167,000 after acquiring an additional 18,516 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $287.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

WTS stock opened at $277.86 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $275.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.45. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $287.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

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.