2,981 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,981 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,056,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% during the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,989,000 after acquiring an additional 140,500 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 8,421.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 104,815 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,030,000 after acquiring an additional 103,585 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 218,832 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,525,000 after acquiring an additional 97,115 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 414.8% during the first quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 64,549 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,738,000 after acquiring an additional 52,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 58.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 135,140 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,230,000 after acquiring an additional 49,960 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on WTS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.70.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total value of $1,291,078.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,579.85. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $354.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $337.53. The company has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.15. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.00 and a fifty-two week high of $394.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The business had revenue of $763.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs and manufactures products that help manage the safety, efficiency, and quality of water in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial systems. Its offerings are used in plumbing, heating, water distribution, and drainage applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes backflow prevention devices, pressure regulators, safety and relief valves, water quality and conditioning equipment, leak detection products, drainage systems, and hydronic and HVAC components.