Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

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Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $278.66 and last traded at $279.20, with a volume of 10652 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $274.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $256.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.55.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 22.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,140 shares of the technology company's stock worth $503,711,000 after purchasing an additional 6,765 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 20.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 804,050 shares of the technology company's stock worth $197,728,000 after purchasing an additional 138,034 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 748,328 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,006,000 after purchasing an additional 19,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 545,724 shares of the technology company's stock worth $134,188,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.