Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,947 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,611 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 48,984.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $114,924,000 after buying an additional 233,167 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 263.6% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 320,008 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $138,234,000 after purchasing an additional 231,987 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth about $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 225.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,610,000 after purchasing an additional 26,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of WSO stock opened at $524.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $483.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $478.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.57 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $368.77 and a 52-week high of $527.40.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

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.