Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $219.84.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. The trade was a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 30.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.73. The company has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

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.