Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Price Target Cut to $397.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $417.00 to $397.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $374.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.80.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $346.79. 401,308 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,042. Watts Water Technologies has a 12-month low of $262.64 and a 12-month high of $394.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $355.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $3.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $728.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $692.57 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 769.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 211.3% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 165 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

About Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures and sells products that manage the safety, efficiency, quality and flow of water in plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Its products serve residential, commercial, industrial and institutional applications, including new construction, renovation and infrastructure projects.

The company’s offerings include backflow prevention and water pressure management equipment, valves, regulators, drainage and plumbing products, water conditioning and filtration systems, water heaters, and solutions for hydronic heating and cooling.