UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 46 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp cut its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 699 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Watsco were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 0.5% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,655,946 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $625,484,000 after purchasing an additional 7,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,310,201 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $476,973,000 after buying an additional 9,201 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 770,476 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $291,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,997 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Watsco by 2.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after acquiring an additional 16,589 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 556,750 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,551,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO traded down $4.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $467.99. 451,002 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 344,576. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $315.17 and a 12-month high of $480.18. The company has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $421.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $403.06.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

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.