Strs Ohio Purchases 4,200 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 150.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,000 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $642,000. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 75.3% during the 2nd quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 4,837 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 4,106 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,383 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,438,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 69.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 517 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $274.78 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $278.16 and a 200-day moving average of $257.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.59 and a 52 week high of $287.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59.

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

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.