Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $301.76 and last traded at $301.6930, with a volume of 19230 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $289.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WTS. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.57.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.7%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.24.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $611.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $576.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.79% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 6,994 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.65, for a total transaction of $1,948,878.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,006 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,621.90. This trade represents a 23.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.78, for a total transaction of $167,451.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 13,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,173.36. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 15,605 shares of company stock valued at $4,296,387 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.4% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,648 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,457 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.