Watts Water Technologies’ (WTS) “Sector Perform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $417.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $374.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

WTS stock opened at $356.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $362.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $337.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.15. Watts Water Technologies has a 1 year low of $260.00 and a 1 year high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $763.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.99 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at $2,828,579.85. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 18.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,668 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,005,000 after buying an additional 4,832 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 26.6% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 34,579 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,038,000 after acquiring an additional 7,256 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at about $3,496,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 218,832 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,525,000 after acquiring an additional 97,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1,808.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,876 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,092,000 after acquiring an additional 26,415 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs and manufactures products that help manage the safety, efficiency, and quality of water in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial systems. Its offerings are used in plumbing, heating, water distribution, and drainage applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes backflow prevention devices, pressure regulators, safety and relief valves, water quality and conditioning equipment, leak detection products, drainage systems, and hydronic and HVAC components.