Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,944 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,556,000 after acquiring an additional 9,148 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,484,000 after buying an additional 4,967 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 worth $202,425,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 264.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,410 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $215.38 on Wednesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $232.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $207.96 and a 200-day moving average of $204.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

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.