Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Insider Monica Barry Sells 768 Shares

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total transaction of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,314.40. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $239.96 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $248.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $207.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.57.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.