Markel Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Markel Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,377 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,196,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 769.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 211.3% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 165 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WTS. Barclays lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $417.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.90.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $359.42 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $356.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.73. The company has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.00 and a 12-month high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%. The firm had revenue of $763.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,828,579.85. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures and sells products that manage the safety, efficiency, quality and flow of water in plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Its products serve residential, commercial, industrial and institutional applications, including new construction, renovation and infrastructure projects.

The company’s offerings include backflow prevention and water pressure management equipment, valves, regulators, drainage and plumbing products, water conditioning and filtration systems, water heaters, and solutions for hydronic heating and cooling.