Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Price Target Lowered to $199.00 at Robert W. Baird

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) had its price target reduced by Robert W. Baird from $225.00 to $199.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Watts Water Technologies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $178.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.73. Watts Water Technologies has a 1-year low of $167.87 and a 1-year high of $219.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The technology company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $597.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.55 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 12.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. Analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 21.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $442,011.01. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,335.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $442,011.01. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,335.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total value of $470,371.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $601,578.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,753 shares of company stock valued at $1,236,753 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth $26,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 502.7% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 223 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

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.