SlateStone Wealth LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,402 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 62.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,329,000 after purchasing an additional 180,951 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $331,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,244,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $573,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 26,348 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research lowered Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $435.00.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $342.60 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $565.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $369.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.76.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

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.