Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 702 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,017 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 702 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WTS. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

WTS opened at $211.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.90. 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 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $219.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $201.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.19.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm 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 was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $512,237.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total transaction of $316,623.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,132,302.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total transaction of $58,567.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,755 shares in the company, valued at $512,237.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,999 shares of company stock valued at $7,299,786. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WTS. StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

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.