Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $367.70 According to Brokerages

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $367.70.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WTS shares. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $374.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,828,579.85. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total value of $1,291,078.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 832,148 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $229,721,000 after buying an additional 25,501 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 6.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 545,404 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,325,000 after buying an additional 34,381 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $100,627,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 218,832 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,525,000 after buying an additional 97,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% in the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,989,000 after acquiring an additional 140,500 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.7%

WTS opened at $360.17 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $260.00 and a fifty-two week high of $394.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $362.18 and its 200 day moving average is $333.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $763.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.99 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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

About Watts Water Technologies

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.