Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $253.80.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTS. Barclays began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $287.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $270.72 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $287.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $276.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.45.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.The company's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total value of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTS. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 124.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,273 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,950,000 after buying an additional 13,460 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,854 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,621,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,869 shares of the technology company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 183,479 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,415,000 after buying an additional 15,150 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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