Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,931 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,858 shares during the quarter. Watsco comprises about 1.2% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $37,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Capital International Investors grew its position in Watsco by 741.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $924,187,000 after buying an additional 2,014,233 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $84,826,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Watsco by 12,054.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,975,000 after buying an additional 171,654 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 106.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after purchasing an additional 152,662 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,293,000 after buying an additional 113,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $409.00.

Watsco Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $346.29 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $521.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $394.13 and its 200-day moving average is $374.07.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. Analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.09%.

Watsco Profile

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.