Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 482,107 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 42,672 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 1.19% of Watsco worth $194,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,848 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,173,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.2% in the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,456 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 107.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,023 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,798,000 after purchasing an additional 22,751 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the third quarter worth about $4,043,000. Finally, Finemark National Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.1% in the third quarter. Finemark National Bank & Trust now owns 16,624 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,721,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 1.7%

WSO opened at $393.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $533.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $390.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $377.99.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSO. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $409.00.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.