Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,153 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,741 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Watsco were worth $16,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Watsco by 32.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 3,571.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 2,128.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after purchasing an additional 102,640 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price objective 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $495.89 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $493.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $496.13. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $396.82 and a one year high of $571.42. The company has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 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 company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio 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.