Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 363 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 29.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,592 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 363 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. North Growth Management Ltd. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 41,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,431,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 10,291 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,961 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,374 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at $941,463.60. The trade was a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. This represents a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.25.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $218.61 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.68. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $221.19. The company has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

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.