Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS – Get Rating) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,692 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.32% of Watts Water Technologies worth $15,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,924,676 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $493,451,000 after purchasing an additional 195,619 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,883,746 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $362,573,000 after buying an additional 116,455 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,913,584 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $240,052,000 after acquiring an additional 11,910 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 873,637 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $109,842,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 691,779 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,565,000 after purchasing an additional 139,042 shares in the last quarter. 74.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Watts Water Technologies Price Performance
NYSE WTS opened at $163.49 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $162.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.31 and a 52 week high of $181.40.
Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.38%.
Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies
In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.09, for a total value of $1,155,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,622,520. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.09, for a total transaction of $1,155,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,622,520. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 9,254 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.76, for a total value of $1,570,959.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,872,667.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,989 shares of company stock valued at $5,508,923. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
WTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $174.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $144.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.57.
About Watts Water Technologies
Watts Water Technologies, Inc engages in the manufacture and provision of products for water conservation, safety, and flow control. It operates through the following geographic segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Its services include plumbing and flow control solutions, water quality and conditioning, water reuse and drainage, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and municipal waterworks.
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