Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,282 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 551 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.10% of Watts Water Technologies worth $6,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 30.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. This represents a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,269,278.50. This represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WTS. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of WTS opened at $214.72 on Wednesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $222.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $208.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.42.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during 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%. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid 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 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

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.