Swiss National Bank Sells 300 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,500 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $11,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total transaction of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,269,278.50. This represents a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total transaction of $554,561.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,437,133.04. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $215.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released 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. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.