Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Price Target Raised to $209.00

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $206.00 to $209.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $191.20.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $203.26 on Wednesday. Watts Water Technologies has a 1 year low of $156.29 and a 1 year high of $219.52. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $203.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business had revenue of $547.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,865.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 881 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,951 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,160,000 after purchasing an additional 10,288 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,395,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,626,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.