KBC Group NV Boosts Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,007 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,598 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.97% of Watts Water Technologies worth $65,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WTS. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $47,238,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,778,000 after acquiring an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1,070.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,324,000 after acquiring an additional 191,146 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $10,792,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 106,183 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,000,000 after purchasing an additional 47,123 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS opened at $210.52 on Monday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $222.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $209.23 and a 200-day moving average of $202.08.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.50.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at $3,269,278.50. The trade was a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,737,557.60. This trade represents a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. Company 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.