Heartland Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,275 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,594 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.07% of Watsco worth $12,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Watsco by 57.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 90 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSO. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.25.

Watsco Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $515.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.89 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $496.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $497.87. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $396.82 and a 12 month high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given 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 yield of 2.10%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 81.51%.

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.