Blair William & Co. IL Sells 124,516 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 675,440 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 124,516 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Watsco were worth $227,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV raised its stake in Watsco by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 125 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $389.58 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $401.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $384.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WSO. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $397.71.

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.