Swiss National Bank Has $10.96 Million Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Swiss National Bank raised its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,900 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.16% of Watts Water Technologies worth $10,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,238,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $23,044,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $10,792,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $9,773,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 122.9% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 74,194 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,084,000 after purchasing an additional 40,912 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $210.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $232.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.18.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.