Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 10,179 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 51.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,653 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,179 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Watsco by 741.4% in 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 in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Watsco by 60,779.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Watsco by 12,054.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,975,000 after purchasing an additional 171,654 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Watsco by 106.4% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after buying an additional 152,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in Watsco by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,293,000 after buying an additional 113,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. UBS Group started coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $399.83.

Watsco Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE WSO opened at $429.56 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $496.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.65 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $398.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $377.09.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. 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 currently 109.54%.

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.