Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 3,204 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,731 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,204 shares during the quarter. Watsco accounts for approximately 1.6% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Watsco worth $31,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Watsco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 4.7% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 5.2% in the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $371.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $398.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $382.36. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $399.83.

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.