Franklin Resources Inc. Has $3.31 Million Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 36.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,003 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 9,023 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research raised shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $204.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.65 and its 200-day moving average is $198.91. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $222.70.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released 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. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares in the company, valued at $2,437,133.04. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. This represents a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.