Monica Barry Sells 1,559 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,463.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of WTS traded down $4.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $207.24. The company had a trading volume of 142,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,980. The stock has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.22. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WTS. 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 research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,778,000 after purchasing an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1,070.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,324,000 after acquiring an additional 191,146 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,507,000 after purchasing an additional 87,900 shares during the period. Natixis increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 20,322.5% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 61,676 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,109,000 after purchasing an additional 61,374 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,794,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.