Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,786 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,574 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Watsco worth $12,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after buying an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 16,595 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $214,373,000 after acquiring an additional 5,176 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,056,000 after acquiring an additional 598,677 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 577,669 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $194,646,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 3.9%

NYSE:WSO opened at $386.34 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $494.94. The stock has a market cap of $15.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $399.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $383.25.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Watsco Company Profile

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.