Insider Selling: Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Major Shareholder Sells 942 Shares of Stock

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) major shareholder Timothy Horne sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.26, for a total value of $256,468.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,939,079.64. This trade represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded up $7.28 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $277.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 92,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,110. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $287.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $275.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.12. The firm has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.17.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.21. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The company had revenue of $611.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Watts Water Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $264.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTS. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 707 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $2,188,000. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $259,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 83,861 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is 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.