Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WTS. 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. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.20.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $241.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 23.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the business'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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in 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 lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is 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.