Donaldson Capital Management LLC Sells 26 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,403 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $345,783,000 after purchasing an additional 63,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 12.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.25.

Watsco Trading Down 2.7 %

Watsco stock opened at $506.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $487.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.76. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $393.88 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.51%.

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.