VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,930 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,496,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. Advyzon Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,163 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 648 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,510 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WTS. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 target price on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $374.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $356.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $361.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.00 and a 12 month high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $763.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.99 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total value of $1,291,078.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,579.85. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.