Corebridge Financial Inc. Trims Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,411 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,432 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $9,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTS. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the fourth 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 raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth $231,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $209.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $211.60 and its 200-day moving average is $207.82.

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

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

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.