First Trust Advisors LP Sells 8,284 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,029 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,284 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Watsco were worth $47,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 242.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 2.0%

Watsco stock opened at $340.64 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $535.40. The company has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $361.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $406.50.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $435.00.

Watsco Company 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.