Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $1.32 Million Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,344 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,188,071 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $550,962,000 after buying an additional 29,113 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 592,018 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $102,313,000 after buying an additional 7,732 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 292,299 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,515,000 after buying an additional 18,213 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 264,438 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,093,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 184,615 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,905,000 after buying an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.20.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,865.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Watts Water Technologies news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $152,036.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,832,964. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $201.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $203.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.61. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.85 and a 52-week high of $219.52. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.71%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 18.41%.

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.