Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $117.54 Million Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 425,854 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 13,898 shares during the period. Watts Water Technologies makes up about 1.1% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $117,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 10.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 8.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,163,000 after acquiring an additional 7,537 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.2% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,734 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WTS shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $358.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 16,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.31, for a total transaction of $5,258,562.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 191,202 shares in the company, valued at $62,582,326.62. The trade was a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 5,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.08, for a total value of $1,613,427.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 12,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,944,146.72. This represents a 29.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,931 shares of company stock valued at $10,349,195. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS opened at $296.06 on Monday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $235.14 and a 52-week high of $345.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $298.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.50. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.20.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.03%.

Watts Water Technologies 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.