Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,182 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,238,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew 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 acquiring an additional 195,778 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1,070.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,324,000 after purchasing an additional 191,146 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,507,000 after purchasing an additional 87,900 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at $10,792,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.0 %

WTS opened at $200.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.91 and a 200 day moving average of $199.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $222.70. The firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total transaction of $554,561.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 11,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,437,133.04. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % 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. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.