Deutsche Bank AG Grows Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,475 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,449 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.17% of Watts Water Technologies worth $11,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,002 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 39,235 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,977,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 18,641 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,790,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,960,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,165 shares of company stock valued at $3,074,168. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS opened at $240.82 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $248.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $207.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.87.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.83%.

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.