Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys Shares of 52,015 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 52,015 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.16% of Watts Water Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PDT Partners LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 46.5% during the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 20,168 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,179,000 after acquiring an additional 6,399 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 13.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,649 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 75,075 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,555,000 after purchasing an additional 7,984 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 20,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies 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 transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $215.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $206.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $221.19.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

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.