Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $187.48, but opened at $181.60. Watts Water Technologies shares last traded at $188.74, with a volume of 236,047 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 2.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $207.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.37.

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Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date 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 the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 13.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,649 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth about $231,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth about $534,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 105.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,810 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,942,000 after buying an additional 27,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 3.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,272 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.