Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Trims Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,915 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,071 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Watsco by 4.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 17.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,711 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,263,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 5.3% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,837 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,544 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP raised its position in Watsco by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 25,625 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $346.29 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $394.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $374.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $521.09.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 99.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $409.00.

Watsco Company 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.