Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $213.12, but opened at $204.86. Watts Water Technologies shares last traded at $212.36, with a volume of 17,331 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $210.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.25. The stock has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its 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 net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total transaction of $925,700.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 366 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.