Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $331.6667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WTS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $288.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $267.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $339.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 5,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.08, for a total value of $1,613,427.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 12,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,944,146.72. The trade was a 29.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.13, for a total value of $108,672.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,220 shares in the company, valued at $3,277,698.60. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 29,674 shares of company stock worth $9,669,838 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors 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 company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 5,335.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,371 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,881,000 after acquiring an additional 13,125 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 26.6% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 34,579 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,038,000 after buying an additional 7,256 shares during the period. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.7% during the first quarter. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 24,076 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,989,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 900.0% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 8.6% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 706 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE WTS opened at $293.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.20. Watts Water Technologies has a one year low of $209.85 and a one year high of $345.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $303.67 and its 200-day moving average is $292.09.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $625.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $610.40 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 13.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 11.62 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.