Insider Selling: Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Insider Sells 4,397 Shares of Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $211.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $209.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.67. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,148 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,411,000 after buying an additional 12,159 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,425,000 after acquiring an additional 8,314 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,507 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,779,000 after acquiring an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 264.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 4,410 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.00.

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.