Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 2,004 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,058 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $10,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Andina Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.3% during the third quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.4% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $201.57 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $208.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.93. 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 issued 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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total transaction of $955,377.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,269,278.50. The trade was a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.50.

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.