HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 128 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,013 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,425,000 after buying an additional 8,314 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $153,708,000 after acquiring an additional 30,688 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 323,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,598 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $55,411,000 after purchasing an additional 12,159 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

WTS stock opened at $211.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $211.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $232.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

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.