Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.43

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.43 per share by the technology company on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

Watts Water Technologies has raised its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Watts Water Technologies has a dividend payout ratio of 15.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Watts Water Technologies to earn $9.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.7%.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WTS traded down $4.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $207.86. 117,840 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 127,974. Watts Water Technologies has a twelve month low of $156.85 and a twelve month high of $219.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.70. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $570.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at $2,706,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Watts Water Technologies news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,706,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,113 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,106. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.25.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.