Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stake Cut by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,103 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 880 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $6,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 48,984.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $114,924,000 after purchasing an additional 233,167 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth about $90,714,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 225.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,610,000 after acquiring an additional 26,911 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,740,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,906,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $491.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $554.79 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $373.33 and a 1 year high of $555.42. The firm has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.87 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $499.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $485.16.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

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.