Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (WTS) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 31st

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.43 per share by the technology company on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

Watts Water Technologies has raised its dividend by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Watts Water Technologies has a dividend payout ratio of 15.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Watts Water Technologies to earn $9.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.7%.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of WTS traded down $4.38 on Thursday, hitting $207.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 117,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,974. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.95. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $156.85 and a fifty-two week high of $219.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $205.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $570.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $307,207.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,400.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.