Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Given a $275.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Separately, Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.20.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $239.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Watts Water Technologies has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $248.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $228.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.82.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 23.83%.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $1,960,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,730. This trade represents a 74.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $188,467.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,530,314.40. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,887,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $49,199,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $85,798,000 after purchasing an additional 194,033 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by 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.