Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 587,538 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,742 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.76% of Watts Water Technologies worth $107,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirova US LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 715,674 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $131,233,000 after buying an additional 15,462 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,904,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 447,955 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,327,000 after purchasing an additional 29,468 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 338,378 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $71,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 295,748 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,616,000 after acquiring an additional 38,110 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total transaction of $316,623.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,132,302.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $206.16 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.87 and a 52 week high of $219.52. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.60.

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

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 21.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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.