Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,444 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.26% of Watsco worth $43,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 11.6% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 31,887 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,044,000 after acquiring an additional 3,322 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,321 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its stake in Watsco by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 41,001 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,568,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.25.

Insider Activity

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total transaction of $2,487,830.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of WSO stock traded up $11.47 on Monday, hitting $504.07. The stock had a trading volume of 27,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,001. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $476.80 and its 200-day moving average is $433.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $337.58 and a 52-week high of $505.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th will be given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.08%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.