Elie Melhem Sells 4,397 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.2 %

Watts Water Technologies stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $209.39. The company had a trading volume of 6,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,964. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $209.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.53. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. Equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 10.4% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,374 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,961 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 10,291 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. North Growth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 41,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,431,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.3% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

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.