Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $222.00.

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 2.1 %

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $214.98 on Monday. Watts Water Technologies has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $204.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.09.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 105.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,810 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,942,000 after acquiring an additional 27,138 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,312 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,411,000 after purchasing an additional 12,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 51,058 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. 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.