Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 9,148 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $65,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,050,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $375,948,000 after purchasing an additional 29,473 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 715,674 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $131,233,000 after buying an additional 15,462 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 587,538 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,738,000 after buying an additional 6,742 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,778,000 after acquiring an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 287,553 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,729,000 after acquiring an additional 8,370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,437,133.04. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total transaction of $955,377.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,269,278.50. This trade represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $215.09 on Friday. 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 cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $205.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.93. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s 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.