US Bancorp DE Has $5.75 Million Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,134 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,603,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 2,128.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after acquiring an additional 102,640 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after buying an additional 63,254 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Watsco Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $493.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.80. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $388.47 and a 12-month high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. On average, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

About Watsco

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.