Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Shares Sold by Jacobs & Co. CA

Jacobs & Co. CA trimmed its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,195 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,681 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.2% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,025 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Natixis lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 17.5% during the second quarter. Natixis now owns 423 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 184 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.4% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $211.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $203.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.50. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.25 and a fifty-two week high of $219.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.41%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,865.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at $473,400.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTS shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $199.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $190.60.

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.