Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 42.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,872 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,788 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Watsco by 168.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,075 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 22.1% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,321 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Watsco by 1.0% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 53,064 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,922,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 42.0% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,038 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $491.25.

Watsco Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of WSO opened at $554.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $504.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $486.93. The company has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $373.33 and a 52-week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

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.