Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $220.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $211.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. Watts Water Technologies has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.78.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,341 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,570,000 after purchasing an additional 9,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $409,000. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

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.