Jacobs & Co. CA Decreases Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Jacobs & Co. CA cut its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,560 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,238,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,778,000 after buying an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1,070.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,324,000 after buying an additional 191,146 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,507,000 after purchasing an additional 87,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $10,792,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $5.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $195.88. The stock had a trading volume of 79,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,060. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $209.21 and its 200 day moving average is $200.00. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $222.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $667,454.85. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. This represents a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $331,318.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at $941,463.60. This represents a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.