Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $220.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of WTS traded down $7.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $187.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 239,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,375. The company has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $210.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.21. Watts Water Technologies has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $232.60.

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Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 19.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies 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 directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $500,804,000 after buying an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,425,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $153,708,000 after purchasing an additional 30,688 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $128,527,000 after purchasing an additional 44,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,798,000 after purchasing an additional 194,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

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.