Bridges Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Bridges Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSOFree Report) by 51.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,372 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,502 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSO. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 741.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $924,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014,233 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,056,000 after purchasing an additional 598,677 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,853,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Watsco by 12,054.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,975,000 after acquiring an additional 171,654 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 106.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $130,801,000 after acquiring an additional 152,662 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $368.50 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $494.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $398.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.25.

Watsco (NYSE:WSOGet Free Report) last issued its 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. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens raised their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $399.83.

View Our Latest Research Report on WSO

Watsco Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Watsco (NYSE:WSO)

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