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

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $206.00 to $209.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.40% from the company’s current price.

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

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $198.30. The company had a trading volume of 55,697 shares, 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $204.55 and its 200 day moving average is $196.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.61.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 12.75%. The company had revenue of $547.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $532.58 million. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $307,207.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,865.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.50, for a total value of $498,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,706,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,113 shares of company stock worth $1,023,106. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wallace Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.2% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1,968.3% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,509 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 4,291 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 9.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 46,721 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

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.