Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 335 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,881 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.23% of Watts Water Technologies worth $14,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quilter Plc increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.3% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 30,467 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,755 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,106,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,769 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 50,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,192,000 after buying an additional 5,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,030 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,839,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $205.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.87 and a 52 week high of $219.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.69.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The technology company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $597.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.55 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 19.22%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.71 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, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 21.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total value of $58,567.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,237.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total transaction of $58,567.95. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,755 shares in the company, valued at $512,237.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total transaction of $316,623.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,132,302.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.