Carnegie Investment Counsel Has $16.13 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,034 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel owned 0.08% of Watsco worth $16,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Watsco by 48,984.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,924,000 after acquiring an additional 233,167 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 2,128.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Watsco by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after purchasing an additional 63,254 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watsco Stock Up 2.5 %

WSO stock opened at $490.84 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $373.33 and a twelve month high of $571.41. The company has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $509.79 and a 200-day moving average of $492.09.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.35 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WSO. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $488.33.

About Watsco

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.