King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $5.85 Million Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,940 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $5,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.4% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,648 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 4.4% during the third quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 940 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,457 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 15,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,384,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $328.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.59 and a 1 year high of $345.17.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.26. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 13.98%.The company had revenue of $625.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $610.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.45%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.32, for a total transaction of $1,855,588.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,800. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 605 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.78, for a total value of $167,451.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,173.36. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,386 shares of company stock worth $3,892,936. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTS. Wells Fargo & Company set a $275.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $320.00 to $389.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.11.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.