Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,328 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth $68,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. This trade represents a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Northcoast Research raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $210.52 on Monday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $222.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.08. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.