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

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $231.20.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on Watts Water Technologies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 2,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $674,730. This represents a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $239.77. The stock had a trading volume of 122,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,341. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.64. The company has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.83%.

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.