Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) PT Set at $275.00 by Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

Separately, Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued 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 $231.20.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WTS traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $239.88. 357,368 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 176,103. The company has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $248.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $228.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.82.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total value of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.