Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Boosts Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,879 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,511 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 6.0% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.5% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 31,681 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $111,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $206.53 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $203.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.68. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $219.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,269,278.50. This trade represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.