Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $202.00 to $218.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Watts Water Technologies traded as high as $221.70 and last traded at $220.83, with a volume of 2352 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $219.84.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,557.60. This trade represents a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. The trade was a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Andina Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 3.3% in the third quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,272 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $207.82 and a 200-day moving average of $197.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.