Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $371.90.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $374.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $445.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,828,579.85. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 545,404 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,325,000 after acquiring an additional 34,381 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 218,832 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,525,000 after purchasing an additional 97,115 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 8,421.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 104,815 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,030,000 after purchasing an additional 103,585 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% in the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,989,000 after purchasing an additional 140,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 135,140 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,230,000 after purchasing an additional 49,960 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $347.40 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $357.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.06. Watts Water Technologies has a 52 week low of $260.00 and a 52 week high of $394.54. The stock has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The firm had revenue of $763.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.01%.

About Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures and sells products that manage the safety, efficiency, quality and flow of water in plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Its products serve residential, commercial, industrial and institutional applications, including new construction, renovation and infrastructure projects.

The company’s offerings include backflow prevention and water pressure management equipment, valves, regulators, drainage and plumbing products, water conditioning and filtration systems, water heaters, and solutions for hydronic heating and cooling.