Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 1,033 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,443 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,207 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,208 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,713 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $251.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.20 and its 200-day moving average is $220.29. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $260.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 13.07%. The business had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.