Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 299,494 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 299,494 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,887,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.90% of Watts Water Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WTS. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $231,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $195.18 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.21. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. On average, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 19.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Watts Water Technologies 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.