Insider Selling: Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Insider Sells 1,559 Shares of Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $331,318.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,463.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS traded down $4.93 during trading on Thursday, hitting $207.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 142,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,980. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $219.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $200.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.22.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WTS. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% 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.