Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Raises Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,961 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,050,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $375,948,000 after acquiring an additional 29,473 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 15,462 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,778,000 after buying an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 338,378 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $71,924,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WTS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total value of $316,623.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,132,302.56. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,684 shares of company stock valued at $7,241,218 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $211.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.50. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $219.52.

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

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

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.