Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 562 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,813 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 562 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth $68,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 76.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares in the company, valued at $37,356,749. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total transaction of $554,561.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,437,133.04. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of 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, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $210.99 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $209.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.54. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $222.70. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. Equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.