Swiss National Bank Purchases 400 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,900 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $10,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,950 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position 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 worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

WTS stock opened at $210.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $232.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.18.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. Research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.