Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,019 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,950 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Andina Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.0 %

WTS stock opened at $211.82 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $210.31 and a 200-day moving average of $207.11. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $232.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

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.