Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Increases Dividend to $0.43 Per Share

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.43 per share by the technology company on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

Watts Water Technologies has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Watts Water Technologies has a payout ratio of 15.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Watts Water Technologies to earn $9.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.7%.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $211.22. The company had a trading volume of 265,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,653. Watts Water Technologies has a one year low of $156.85 and a one year high of $219.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $205.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.70.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $570.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted 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 report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $195.25.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at $2,706,018. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total transaction of $65,112.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,400.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.