Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Insider Sells $442,011.01 in Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total value of $442,011.01. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,335.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $210.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.53. The company has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.85 and a 52-week high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $570.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 12.53%. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st 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, May 31st. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 17.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WTS. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2,857.1% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 207 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 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.