Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 86.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,607 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 67,274 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth about $302,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth about $1,068,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 28.2% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 96,428 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,979,000 after buying an additional 21,214 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 18,816 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 5,879 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,557.60. This trade represents a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 $3,269,278.50. This trade represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %

WTS stock opened at $215.06 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $221.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.90.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on WTS shares. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

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.