Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Watts Water Technologies from “buy” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $367.70.
• Watts reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.66 versus the $3.34 consensus estimate and revenue of $763.2 million, up 18.6% year over year.
• The stock opened at $356.98, with a market capitalization of roughly $11.92 billion; institutional investors own approximately 95.02% of shares, while recent insider transactions included sales by a director and an executive.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

WTS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $417.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $374.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $356.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Watts Water Technologies has a 12 month low of $260.00 and a 12 month high of $394.54. The stock's 50 day moving average is $362.13 and its 200-day moving average is $337.67.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%. The business had revenue of $763.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $725.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,579.85. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,818 shares of the technology company's stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 706 shares of the technology company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Petros Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 5.5% in the first quarter. Petros Family Wealth LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs and manufactures products that help manage the safety, efficiency, and quality of water in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial systems. Its offerings are used in plumbing, heating, water distribution, and drainage applications.

The company's product portfolio includes backflow prevention devices, pressure regulators, safety and relief valves, water quality and conditioning equipment, leak detection products, drainage systems, and hydronic and HVAC components.

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