Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,463.60. This trade represents a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,050,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $375,948,000 after purchasing an additional 29,473 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,425,000 after buying an additional 8,314 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,708,000 after acquiring an additional 30,688 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 715,674 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $131,233,000 after acquiring an additional 15,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 587,538 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,738,000 after acquiring an additional 6,742 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $207.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.73.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

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.