Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) CFO Sells $1,960,000.00 in Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of WTS stock opened at $240.82 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.87. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $248.17.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.58 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 23.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.3% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,140 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $503,711,000 after acquiring an additional 6,765 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $85,798,000 after acquiring an additional 194,033 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $80,983,000 after buying an additional 40,738 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.