Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. Buys Shares of 5,100 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,100 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,037,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $2,176,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 117.4% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,722 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth about $837,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 94.0% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 19,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,557,000 after acquiring an additional 9,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $125,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:WTS opened at $206.40 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $209.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.74. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $222.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of 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 began 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, Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

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.