Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) CFO Sells $955,377.90 in Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,269,278.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $208.45 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month high of $219.52. The stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $201.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.25.

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 firm had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,062 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,665,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,952 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $442,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $940,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 21.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,918 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,634,000 after purchasing an additional 6,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

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.