CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 1,081 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,681 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $6,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2,857.1% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 207 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 502.7% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 223 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total value of $470,371.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $601,578.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $442,011.01. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,335.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total value of $470,371.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $601,578.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,753 shares of company stock worth $1,236,753. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $205.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.96. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.87 and a 1 year high of $219.52. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $570.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

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.