Barclays PLC Raises Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 68,748 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,938 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $13,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,616 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 16.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,312 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,411,000 after purchasing an additional 12,159 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 51,058 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $197.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $206.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $232.60.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.