Brokerages Set Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Target Price at $220.00

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $220.00.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Northcoast Research raised Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $500,804,000 after buying an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,425,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,708,000 after purchasing an additional 30,688 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $128,527,000 after buying an additional 44,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $107,778,000 after buying an additional 195,778 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS opened at $213.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Watts Water Technologies has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $232.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.53.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

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.