Analysts Set Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Target Price at $222.00

Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $222.00.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTS. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock traded up $3.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $211.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 61,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,737. The firm's 50-day moving average is $204.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $232.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. On average, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

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.