State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 184 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,107 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,238,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,778,000 after acquiring an additional 195,778 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,792,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 122.9% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 74,194 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,084,000 after acquiring an additional 40,912 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,708,000 after acquiring an additional 30,688 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $215.16 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $232.60. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $208.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.10.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies 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.