Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $220.42 and last traded at $220.42, with a volume of 8276 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $215.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

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 has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $205.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.69.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares in the company, valued at $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total value of $667,454.85. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,557.60. This trade represents a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,967 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.9% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,121,000 after purchasing an additional 28,170 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth $2,897,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 44,840 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,348,000 after purchasing an additional 15,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,507,000 after buying an additional 87,900 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.