VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Sells 3,320 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lowered its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,770 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,320 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Cartenna Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,478,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,276,000 after purchasing an additional 165,837 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 223.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 202,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $56,484,000 after purchasing an additional 139,637 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 469,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $131,124,000 after purchasing an additional 120,090 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2,609.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 81,743 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,563,000 after purchasing an additional 78,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at $2,697,863. The trade was a 20.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.70, for a total transaction of $100,164.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,360.40. This trade represents a 13.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,931 shares of company stock worth $10,349,195. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WTS shares. HSBC started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $267.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $358.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.44.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.8%

WTS opened at $296.06 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $298.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $293.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $235.14 and a one year high of $345.17.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.