Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 27.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,717 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,090 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 3.8% during 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 grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $397.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $403.43 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $494.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $399.01 and its 200-day moving average is $389.62. The stock has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.54%.

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.