Boston Trust Walden Corp Increases Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 195,778 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $107,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth about $30,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE WTS traded down $1.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $197.04. 110,556 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 145,735. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.41. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $167.87 and a 1-year high of $219.52. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The technology company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $597.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.55 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total value of $58,567.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,237.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total value of $58,567.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,237.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total transaction of $316,623.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,132,302.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.