Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $257.40 and last traded at $254.50, with a volume of 223790 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $249.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Northcoast Research downgraded 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 target on shares of Watts Water Technologies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.20.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.6%

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 market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $240.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.00.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,754 shares in the company, valued at $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $60,887,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $49,199,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,798,000 after purchasing an additional 194,033 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently 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.