Insider Selling: Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Director Sells 398 Shares of Stock

Key Points

  • Insider sale: Watts Water Technologies director Michael Dubose sold 398 shares at an average price of $309.63, reducing his stake by about 18% and bringing in roughly $123,233.
  • Strong quarterly results: The company reported Q1 earnings of $3.04 per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in at $677.3 million and rose 21.4% year over year.
  • Dividend and analyst view: Watts Water declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, and Wall Street currently has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $329.44.

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) Director Michael Dubose sold 398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,668.82. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS stock opened at $310.62 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $298.23 and its 200-day moving average is $295.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $237.15 and a twelve month high of $345.17.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.37 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement




The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advyzon Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 843 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,163 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 648 shares of the technology company's stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,510 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $267.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $317.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $379.00 price objective on Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $329.44.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company's product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.

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