John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,725 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WTS shares. Northcoast Research raised 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 report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $214.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $232.60. The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.19.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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.