Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Freedom Day Solutions LLC

Freedom Day Solutions LLC trimmed its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,863 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 115.4% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $472.50.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $380.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $405.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $446.29. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $378.35 and a 1-year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.02%.

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.