Perpetual Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 52,368 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,040 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $10,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth $68,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the business’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 transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of WTS opened at $213.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $222.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.29. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.50.

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.