Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 5,178 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 63.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,942 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,178 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WTS. Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of WTS stock opened at $211.27 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $219.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.90.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. This represents a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,437,133.04. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.