Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Sells 13,455 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 66.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,686 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 13,455 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Watsco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.2% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $410.75 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $494.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $401.17 and a 200-day moving average of $388.38.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change 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%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson began coverage on Watsco in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price target for the company. Stephens lifted their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $397.71.

About Watsco

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.