Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 7,900 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,766 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.12% of Watts Water Technologies worth $8,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTS. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth $47,238,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $23,044,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth $10,792,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $9,773,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $128,527,000 after acquiring an additional 44,465 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $207.23 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $232.60. The company has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $210.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. Equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

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.