Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Stock Holdings Increased by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,681 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.10% of Watts Water Technologies worth $6,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 34,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,141,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 281 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $205.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.87 and a 1-year high of $219.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.96.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $570.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 12.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total transaction of $470,371.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $601,578.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $442,011.01. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,850,335.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total value of $470,371.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,806 shares in the company, valued at $601,578.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,753 shares of company stock worth $1,236,753 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.