Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Now Covered by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $240.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.8 %

WTS stock opened at $214.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Watts Water Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $175.37 and a fifty-two week high of $222.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.42. The stock has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total transaction of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,269,278.50. This trade represents a 22.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total transaction of $554,561.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,437,133.04. This trade represents a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth about $47,238,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 60.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 520,189 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,778,000 after buying an additional 195,778 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1,070.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,324,000 after buying an additional 191,146 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,507,000 after buying an additional 87,900 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth about $9,794,000. Institutional investors 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.