Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $220.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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 raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,556,000 after acquiring an additional 9,148 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,967 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 267,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,411,000 after acquiring an additional 12,159 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,425,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 264.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 4,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $206.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. Watts Water Technologies has a 1-year low of $175.37 and a 1-year high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $209.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

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.