Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) CEO Sells $4,415,882.00 in Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.9 %

WTS traded up $1.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $209.09. 9,980 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 145,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $219.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.22.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth about $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.