New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC cut its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 38.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,369 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,755 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the first quarter worth $266,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Watsco during the 1st quarter worth $2,588,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Watsco by 109.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 222 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 133.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 844 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Watsco by 4.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,028 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $484.17.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $418.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a PE ratio of 32.07 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $450.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $475.26. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $417.46 and a 1 year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 92.02%.

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.