Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 16,939 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Riverbridge Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,410 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16,939 shares during the quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Watsco worth $23,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 242.9% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the second quarter worth about $242,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in Watsco by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,263,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. UBS Group began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $409.00.

Watsco Stock Down 5.2%

Watsco stock opened at $347.91 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $521.70. The company has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.73 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $394.84 and its 200 day moving average is $374.81.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 99.09%.

Watsco Company 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.