HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,978 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after buying an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $345,783,000 after acquiring an additional 63,254 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,832,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $508.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39 and a beta of 0.92. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $396.82 and a 52-week high of $571.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $491.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $495.86.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.25.

Watsco Company 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.