MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 599 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,148 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.09% of Watts Water Technologies worth $6,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,484,000 after acquiring an additional 4,967 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,148 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.9% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,555 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,121,000 after buying an additional 28,170 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at $2,897,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 54.9% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 44,840 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,348,000 after buying an additional 15,901 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.25.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $215.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $206.20 and a 200 day moving average of $197.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $221.19.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Watts Water Technologies 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.