Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $3.54 Million Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 59.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,481 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 15,676 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $7,952,000. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Watsco by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 21,804 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 91.5% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 16,907 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,697,000 after acquiring an additional 8,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $410.11 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $401.38 and a 200-day moving average of $387.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $397.71.

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.