Brokerages Set Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Target Price at $264.25

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $264.25.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $272.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $274.83 and its 200-day moving average is $264.87. Watts Water Technologies has a one year low of $177.59 and a one year high of $287.89.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $611.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 13.79%.Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. 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 currently 21.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.65, for a total value of $1,948,878.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,621.90. This trade represents a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,128,936 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 156.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.