Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Trims Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd decreased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 65.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,469 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,655 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 10,856 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.3% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter worth $111,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 44,840 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,348,000 after purchasing an additional 15,901 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,013 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Northcoast Research raised Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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 lowered their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,269,278.50. The trade was a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, 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 Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $215.09 on Thursday. 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.90.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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