Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 203 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,586 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $128,527,000 after buying an additional 44,465 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $85,798,000 after acquiring an additional 194,033 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.00.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WTS stock opened at $206.26 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $232.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

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.