Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) General Counsel Sells $554,561.04 in Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,437,133.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Kenneth Robert Lepage also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 4th, Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $208.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $201.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.32. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

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.