John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 500 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,125 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $4,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WTS. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 184 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.20.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $203.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 310,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 120,828. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.29 and a 1-year high of $219.52. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $204.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.69.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.41%.

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.