UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135,045 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,647 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $56,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 76.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,949,000 after purchasing an additional 5,147 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan grew its position in Watsco by 2.6% during the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 4,804 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 15.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,793 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,917,000 after buying an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $107,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $420,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $309.26 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $350.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $379.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $295.75 and a 52-week high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 114.48%.

About Watsco

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.