Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,495 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $4,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 10,856 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.3% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $111,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 44,840 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,348,000 after acquiring an additional 15,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,013 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WTS shares. StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $667,454.85. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS opened at $215.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $205.98 and its 200-day moving average is $197.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $221.19.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.