Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.26 EPS

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.26, Zacks reports. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.79% and a return on equity of 18.31%.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:WTS traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $314.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 182,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,318. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $279.63. The company has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.24. Watts Water Technologies has a twelve month low of $177.59 and a twelve month high of $321.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 21.47%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.78, for a total value of $167,451.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,173.36. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,814 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.32, for a total transaction of $1,855,588.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,084,800. This represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,611 shares of company stock valued at $2,347,509. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 907,336 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $253,211,000 after acquiring an additional 19,247 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 34.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 469,508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $131,124,000 after acquiring an additional 120,090 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,139 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $90,226,000 after buying an additional 48,470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 282,830 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,067,000 after acquiring an additional 125,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Port Capital LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 251,206 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $70,157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.57.

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.