Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,936 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,649 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $14,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in shares of Watsco by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,928 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Watsco by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 1,949 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $322,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its position in Watsco by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 867 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,714,586,000 after purchasing an additional 52,127 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $517.72 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $396.82 and a 1 year high of $571.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $494.88 and a 200 day moving average of $497.64. The stock has a market cap of $20.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.07 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

Watsco Profile

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.