Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,978 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $279,832,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Watsco by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 126,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $60,125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,728 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Watsco by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,299 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Watsco by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 148 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $508.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $495.86. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $396.82 and a 52 week high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. Sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.51%.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.