Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,056 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,114 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Watsco were worth $55,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Watsco by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 239,606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,166,000 after purchasing an additional 26,003 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,992,000 after buying an additional 68,442 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 40.1% during the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 78,012 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,510,000 after buying an additional 22,320 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 577,669 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $194,646,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,563,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO opened at $315.54 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $295.75 and a 1 year high of $459.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $348.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $379.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $395.50.

Watsco Profile

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.