NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $3.06 Million Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,781 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 677 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after acquiring an additional 4,967 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,148 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,121,000 after purchasing an additional 28,170 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $2,897,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,507,000 after purchasing an additional 87,900 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on 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 cut 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 note on Friday, August 9th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.25.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $213.90 on Wednesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $221.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $206.51 and its 200-day moving average is $197.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.92.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at $941,463.60. This represents a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. This represents a 19.60 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.