Perpetual Ltd Grows Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,721 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd owned approximately 0.14% of Watts Water Technologies worth $9,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2,857.1% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 207 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $442,011.01. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,335.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total value of $470,371.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $601,578.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $442,011.01. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,226 shares in the company, valued at $2,850,335.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,753 shares of company stock valued at $1,236,753 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.50.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.5 %

WTS stock opened at $186.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $201.56 and its 200 day moving average is $202.65. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.94. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.87 and a 1-year high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $570.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 12.53%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.34%.

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.