Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 1,187 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,187 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,050,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $375,948,000 after buying an additional 29,473 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,425,000 after acquiring an additional 8,314 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,708,000 after purchasing an additional 30,688 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 587,538 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,738,000 after purchasing an additional 6,742 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position 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 valued at $107,778,000 after purchasing an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,269,278.50. This trade represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $207.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $200.57. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $222.70.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.