Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires 4,732 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 15.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,948 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,732 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.10% of Watts Water Technologies worth $8,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 156.9% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.65, for a total transaction of $1,948,878.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,621.90. This trade represents a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.25.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $269.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $277.24 and a 200-day moving average of $260.94. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $287.89.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $611.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 21.47%.

Watts Water Technologies 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.