Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 9.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,609 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $6,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $373,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 4,671 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $237,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 15,682.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 4,419 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 4,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 154.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 6,401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after acquiring an additional 3,881 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,579.85. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $425.00 to $424.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $417.00 to $397.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.30.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.8%

WTS opened at $357.72 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.96 and a 12 month high of $394.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $355.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $333.73.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $3.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $728.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $692.57 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 16.00%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 13.11 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 Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.89%.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures products that help control the safety, flow, and quality of water in plumbing, heating, and water-treatment systems. Its products serve residential, commercial, and industrial applications. The company’s offerings include backflow preventers, valves, water pressure regulators, drainage products, water-quality and treatment systems, and controls for heating and hot-water applications. It also provides solutions for water reuse and other water-management needs.