Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $249.51 and last traded at $249.11, with a volume of 25260 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $247.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.20.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average is $232.01 and its 200-day moving average is $215.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 13.07%. The business's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $674,730. The trade was a 74.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

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.

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