Analysts Set Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) PT at $334.11

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $334.1111.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $339.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $320.00 to $389.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $297.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.23. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $345.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $308.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $625.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $610.40 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 13.98%.Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 16,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.31, for a total transaction of $5,258,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 191,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,582,326.62. The trade was a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.70, for a total transaction of $100,164.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,360.40. This represents a 13.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,528 shares of company stock worth $9,614,906. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $100,627,000. Cartenna Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,478,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,276,000 after buying an additional 165,837 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 223.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 202,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $56,484,000 after buying an additional 139,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 804,050 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $197,728,000 after buying an additional 138,034 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.