Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high 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.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on WTS. StockNews.com raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research raised Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares in the company, valued at $2,437,133.04. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,463.60. This trade represents a 26.03 % 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,238,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,778,000 after buying an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1,070.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,324,000 after buying an additional 191,146 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,507,000 after buying an additional 87,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,794,000. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $207.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.81. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.92.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.