Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Taylor Securities Services Inc.

by · The Markets Daily

Taylor Securities Services Inc. cut its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO – Free Report) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,420 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,924 shares during the quarter. Watsco accounts for 2.6% of Taylor Securities Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Taylor Securities Services Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $6,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSO. Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,169 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $211,787,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Watsco during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,291,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at $97,937,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth about $96,991,000. Finally, Caledonia Investments PLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 261,439 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $79,072,000 after buying an additional 28,512 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on Watsco from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $373.62.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on WSO

Watsco Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:WSO opened at $301.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $277.34 and a 1-year high of $459.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $359.46.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.48%.

About Watsco

(Free Report)

Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heating systems, refrigeration equipment, replacement parts, and other supplies used by contractors and service professionals.

Watsco distributes products from leading HVAC/R manufacturers, including equipment and components such as air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, thermostats, controls, motors and indoor air-quality products.

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