Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 26.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,867 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 23.2% in the third quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 77,720 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,432,000 after purchasing an additional 14,660 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 20,591.7% during the third quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 4,966 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 4,942 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 16.3% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,144 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth $395,000. Finally, Freedom Day Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth $1,502,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.20.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS stock opened at $201.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $203.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.85. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.94. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.29 and a 1-year high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.41%.

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.