Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,936 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,649 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Watsco worth $14,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Watsco by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 3,571.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 2,128.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,880,000 after buying an additional 102,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Watsco by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after acquiring an additional 41,845 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $517.72 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $396.82 and a 52-week high of $571.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $494.88 and a 200-day moving average of $497.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 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.