WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $16.59 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

WASHINGTON TRUST Co cut its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,563 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 603 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co owned about 0.09% of Watsco worth $16,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 115.4% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the second quarter worth $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Watsco in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Watsco stock traded up $2.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $351.01. 8,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 356,067. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $380.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $423.32. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $344.52 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45 and a beta of 0.93.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WSO. Zacks Research lowered shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $435.00.

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.