Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $202.00 to $218.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Watts Water Technologies traded as high as $221.70 and last traded at $220.83, with a volume of 2352 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $219.84.

WTS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Northcoast Research raised Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares in the company, valued at $2,437,133.04. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,269,278.50. The trade was a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.98.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

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.