Brokerages Set Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Price Target at $234.20

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $236.20.

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $262.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $249.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.86. Watts Water Technologies has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $269.66.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,410 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,541,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,416 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 156.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.