Inspire Investing LLC Lowers Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,627 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,140 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $503,711,000 after acquiring an additional 6,765 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $184,708,000 after acquiring an additional 273,628 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 748,328 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $184,006,000 after acquiring an additional 19,344 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $66,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 321,343 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS opened at $270.72 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $287.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $276.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.45.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The firm had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $287.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.80.

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.