KBC Group NV Sells 6,456 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

KBC Group NV lessened its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 2.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 214,812 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,456 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $62,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 907,336 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $253,211,000 after purchasing an additional 19,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 832,148 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $229,721,000 after buying an additional 25,501 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 522,624 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $144,261,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 34.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 469,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $131,124,000 after buying an additional 120,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $100,627,000. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WTS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays raised Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $317.00 to $414.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $345.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total transaction of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,668.82. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at $2,697,863. This represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:WTS opened at $341.57 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $246.55 and a 12 month high of $394.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.98.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The firm had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.