Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Price Target Raised to $209.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $206.00 to $209.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 5.40% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $191.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.20.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WTS traded down $1.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $198.30. 55,697 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 119,772. Watts Water Technologies has a 12-month low of $156.29 and a 12-month high of $219.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $204.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.94.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $532.58 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Watts Water Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total value of $65,112.39. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.91, for a total transaction of $65,112.39. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,392 shares in the company, valued at $473,400.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total transaction of $498,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,188,071 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $550,962,000 after purchasing an additional 29,113 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,128,516 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $358,272,000 after buying an additional 36,810 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 913,288 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $167,798,000 after buying an additional 4,499 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 25.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 691,779 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $96,565,000 after buying an additional 139,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 691,138 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,065,000 after buying an additional 82,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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.