GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Has $2.10 Million Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 21.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,760 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,322 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 1st quarter worth $266,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 62.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,329,000 after acquiring an additional 180,951 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Watsco in the 1st quarter worth $2,588,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,218 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,244,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth $573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $367.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $387.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $430.09. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.00 and a 52-week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.60 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, 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, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $440.83.

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.