Jacobs & Co. CA Trims Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Jacobs & Co. CA cut its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,560 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Andina Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.3% during the third quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,272 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 75 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,737,557.60. This trade represents a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 2.9 %

WTS traded down $5.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $195.88. The stock had a trading volume of 79,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,060. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.93. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $222.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $200.00.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS 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 business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.