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

Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $254.99 and last traded at $254.02, with a volume of 42206 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $252.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports 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 report on Wednesday, June 18th. Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $231.20.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.44.

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 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 firm had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $547.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase 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 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total value of $188,467.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. The trade was a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

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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