Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 67,274 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,607 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 67,274 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth $302,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $1,068,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 28.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 96,428 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,979,000 after buying an additional 21,214 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 18,816 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,898,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 5,879 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares in the company, valued at $2,437,133.04. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $955,377.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at $3,269,278.50. The trade was a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research 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 target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.25.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $215.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.69. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $221.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

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.