Marshall Wace LLP Has $1.41 Million Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 69.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,933 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 15,801 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 366 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.00.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $206.26 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $204.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $232.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results 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, equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

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.