Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Insider Elie Melhem Sells 4,397 Shares

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.3 %

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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.37 and a 12 month 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $209.67 and a 200-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, topping 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, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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 $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,887,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,238,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,044,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $10,792,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

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.