5,100 Shares in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Purchased by Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.

Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,100 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,425,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,708,000 after acquiring an additional 30,688 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,778,000 after purchasing an additional 195,778 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 323,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,148 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.4 %

WTS opened at $206.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $209.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.74. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $222.70. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. This trade represents a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WTS. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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.