Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Saturna Capital Corp

Saturna Capital Corp lowered its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 6.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,051 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 212 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter worth $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 115.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 242.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $341.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64 and a beta of 0.93. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $335.02 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $375.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $419.69.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WSO. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $435.00.

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.