WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 603 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

WASHINGTON TRUST Co trimmed its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,563 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 603 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Watsco were worth $16,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in Watsco by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 13,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,855,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,388 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,354,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in Watsco by 2.9% during the second quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 7,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 18.7% during the second quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 74,855 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,057,000 after buying an additional 11,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 0.6%

WSO traded up $2.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $351.01. 8,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 356,067. The company’s 50-day moving average is $380.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $423.32. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $344.52 and a 12-month high of $571.41. The company has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45 and a beta of 0.93.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $435.00.

Watsco Profile

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.