Taylor Securities Services Inc. cut its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO – Free Report) by 12.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,420 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,924 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for approximately 2.6% of Taylor Securities Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Taylor Securities Services Inc. owned 0.05% of Watsco worth $6,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $211,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the third quarter valued at about $96,991,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $119,291,000. Caledonia Investments PLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 12.2% in the third quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 261,439 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $79,072,000 after buying an additional 28,512 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $97,937,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have commented on WSO shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research lowered Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $373.62.
Watsco Price Performance
Shares of WSO opened at $301.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $277.34 and a one year high of $459.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $306.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $359.46.
Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Watsco Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.48%.
Watsco Profile
Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heating systems, refrigeration equipment, replacement parts, and other supplies used by contractors and service professionals.
Watsco distributes products from leading HVAC/R manufacturers, including equipment and components such as air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, thermostats, controls, motors and indoor air-quality products.
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