Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,793 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,860 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $399.83.

Watsco Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE:WSO opened at $386.34 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $494.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $399.97 and a 200-day moving average of $383.25. The firm has a market cap of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.