Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stock Holdings Lowered by Abacus FCF Advisors LLC

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,911 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 674 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,695 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Watsco by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,178 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 373 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 0.2%

WSO stock opened at $444.46 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $430.20 and a one year high of $571.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $471.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $489.55.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 92.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.67.

About Watsco

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.