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

Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $222.00.

WTS has been the subject of several research reports. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total value of $188,467.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,960,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth about $571,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 14,676 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $163,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 210.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 57,901 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,807,000 after purchasing an additional 39,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 439.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 2,431 shares of the technology company's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $240.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $248.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $224.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.09.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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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