Swedbank AB Lowers Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Swedbank AB cut its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 173,787 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 17,225 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.43% of Watsco worth $85,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 30.6% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WSO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $491.25.

Watsco Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of WSO opened at $554.79 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $499.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $485.27. The stock has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.87 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $373.33 and a 12-month high of $555.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.35 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.