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

Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $231.20.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTS shares. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $254.40 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies has a 52 week low of $177.59 and a 52 week high of $260.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.12.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 13.07%. The business had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.33 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.83%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $674,730. The trade was a 74.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 59,029 shares of the technology company's stock worth $14,515,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $343,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 4,045 shares of the technology company's stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $571,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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