John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,125 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned 0.06% of Watts Water Technologies worth $4,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 12.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 41.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 881 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 14.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,951 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,160,000 after acquiring an additional 10,288 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,395,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $14,626,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.20.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:WTS traded up $3.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $203.21. The stock had a trading volume of 310,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 120,828. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $156.29 and a one year high of $219.52. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $204.09 and a 200 day moving average of $196.69. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total transaction of $65,112.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at $473,400.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.