Sanctuary Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,616 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,708,000 after purchasing an additional 30,688 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,272 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,810 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,942,000 after buying an additional 27,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $695,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $202.02 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $208.76 and its 200 day moving average is $198.64. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $222.70.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 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 firm had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies 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.