Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Insider Sells $442,011.01 in Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) insider Elie Melhem sold 2,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.51, for a total transaction of $442,011.01. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,226 shares in the company, valued at $2,850,335.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $210.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $207.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.53. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.85 and a 12-month high of $219.52.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.22. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $570.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 17.87%.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WTS. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $125,904,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $61,513,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $13,284,000. Natixis increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 20,322.5% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 61,676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,109,000 after acquiring an additional 61,374 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1,826.3% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 59,310 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,606,000 after acquiring an additional 56,231 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.50.

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.