Prudential Financial Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 72.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,829 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $285,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 321,343 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 75,779 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,453,000 after acquiring an additional 20,304 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.32, for a total value of $1,855,588.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,800. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,128,936 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:WTS opened at $272.05 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $274.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.21. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.59 and a 1 year high of $287.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $611.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 13.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.25.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.