Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

WTS has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $171.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $177.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $178.20.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $177.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $184.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.72. Watts Water Technologies has a one year low of $120.78 and a one year high of $192.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The technology company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $532.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.93 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.43% and a return on equity of 19.48%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 2,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.14, for a total transaction of $444,167.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,583,378.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 2,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.14, for a total transaction of $444,167.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,583,378.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 9,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.36, for a total transaction of $1,771,149.08. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 17,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,217.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 93.5% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 149 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 141.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 176 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 80.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 184 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.06% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc 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. The company offers residential and commercial flow control and protection products, including backflow preventers, water pressure regulators, temperature and pressure relief valves, thermostatic mixing valves, and leak detection and protection products for plumbing and hot water applications.