SEB Asset Management AB Purchases New Shares in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 16,806 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,879,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTS. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 54,240 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,745,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 60,311 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 6,718 shares in the last quarter. Future Fund LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 9,438 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 211.3% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 165 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,134 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $679,357.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total transaction of $123,232.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,668.82. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $358.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $317.00 to $414.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $345.30.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.0%

WTS stock opened at $341.36 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.06 and a 12-month high of $394.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $334.12 and its 200 day moving average is $313.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.14.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The business’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.