Shashank Patel Sells 8,000 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $674,730. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.3%

Watts Water Technologies stock traded up $3.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $244.35. 223,733 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 174,479. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business's 50 day moving average is $207.78 and its 200 day moving average is $208.87. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $248.17.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 23.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.