Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 7,600 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,423 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,600 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% during 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 period. Mirova US LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 715,674 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $131,233,000 after buying an additional 15,462 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 587,538 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,738,000 after buying an additional 6,742 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in 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 worth $107,778,000 after buying an additional 195,778 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,556,000 after buying an additional 9,148 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at $3,269,278.50. This represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the company’s 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 owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,437,133.04. The trade was a 18.54 % 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. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.1 %

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $216.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 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 $221.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $206.72 and its 200 day moving average is $197.81. The company has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.92.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WTS. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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 research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.