Insider Selling: Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Insider Sells 2,051 Shares of Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $442,011.01. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,850,335.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $215.76. 152,001 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 127,841. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.40. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.85 and a 1-year high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $570.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 17.87%.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% in 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 in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 2,857.1% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 207 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $199.50.

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.