Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $220.42 and last traded at $220.42, with a volume of 8276 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $215.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTS shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $205.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at $941,463.60. This trade represents a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,356,749. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,238,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,778,000 after purchasing an additional 195,778 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1,070.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,324,000 after purchasing an additional 191,146 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,507,000 after buying an additional 87,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,794,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.