Franklin Resources Inc. Has $3.31 Million Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,003 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 9,023 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 287,553 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,729,000 after purchasing an additional 8,370 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 135.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 59,060 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,830,000 after purchasing an additional 34,019 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 6,424 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 16.7% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,091 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,302,000 after buying an additional 9,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 28.9% during the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,590 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total transaction of $554,561.04. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares in the company, valued at $2,437,133.04. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,463.60. The trade was a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WTS stock opened at $204.81 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $222.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $208.65 and a 200-day moving average of $198.91.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.