Swiss National Bank Sells 2,600 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 104,944 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Watsco were worth $44,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $536,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $4,070,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $2,516,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $245,013,000 after acquiring an additional 16,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 145.6% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $404.25.

Watsco Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of WSO stock opened at $472.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35 and a beta of 0.86. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $315.17 and a 1-year high of $474.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $421.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $403.06.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.08%.

Watsco Company 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.