Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $374.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $356.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $362.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $338.04. Watts Water Technologies has a 52-week low of $260.00 and a 52-week high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The company had revenue of $763.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,828,579.85. This represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.7% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,668 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,832 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 26.6% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 34,579 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,038,000 after purchasing an additional 7,256 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $3,496,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 218,832 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,525,000 after purchasing an additional 97,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1,808.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,876 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,092,000 after purchasing an additional 26,415 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs and manufactures products that help manage the safety, efficiency, and quality of water in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial systems. Its offerings are used in plumbing, heating, water distribution, and drainage applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes backflow prevention devices, pressure regulators, safety and relief valves, water quality and conditioning equipment, leak detection products, drainage systems, and hydronic and HVAC components.