Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports.

WTS has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.25.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $279.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Watts Water Technologies has a 12-month low of $177.59 and a 12-month high of $287.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $275.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.23.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $611.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 13.79%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 605 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.78, for a total value of $167,451.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,412 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,173.36. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.65, for a total transaction of $1,948,878.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,621.90. This trade represents a 23.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,605 shares of company stock worth $4,296,387. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $80,386,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $50,400,000. Cartenna Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,478,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,276,000 after acquiring an additional 165,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2,366.7% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 153,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,691,000 after acquiring an additional 147,068 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company’s product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.