Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,356 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 906 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $7,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE WTS opened at $209.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $211.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.82. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $232.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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.