Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Decreases Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC cut its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 7.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,085 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 318 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 115.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSO. UBS Group cut their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Watsco from $425.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $462.50.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $370.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $399.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $441.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 0.94. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $350.00 and a 1 year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 92.02%.

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.