Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 62.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,981 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,598 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,163,000 after purchasing an additional 7,537 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,734 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $317.00 to $414.00 in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $379.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $338.20.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of WTS opened at $368.69 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.77 and a 52-week high of $394.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.40. The company has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.14.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.03 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at $561,668.82. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies 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.