Insider Selling: Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Major Shareholder Sells 7,000 Shares of Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS traded up $3.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $244.44. 123,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,216. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $248.17. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $217.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.65.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,950 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,410 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,541,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.00.

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.