Mirova US LLC Sells 4,441 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Mirova US LLC lowered its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 712,787 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,441 shares during the period. Watts Water Technologies makes up approximately 2.2% of Mirova US LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Mirova US LLC owned approximately 2.14% of Watts Water Technologies worth $148,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $38,180,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 188.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 230,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,106,000 after purchasing an additional 150,400 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 161.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 228,077 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,837,000 after purchasing an additional 140,834 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 25.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 691,779 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,565,000 after purchasing an additional 139,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,883,746 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $362,573,000 after acquiring an additional 116,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $199.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.60.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.3 %

WTS stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $200.27. 87,791 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 92,381. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.29 and a 1 year high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 18.41%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at $2,706,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106. Corporate insiders own 1.10% 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.