Park National Corp OH Reduces Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Park National Corp OH lessened its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,031 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Watsco were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 534 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Watsco by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 54,408 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,332,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $466.22 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $511.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $491.94. The company has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $373.33 and a 1-year high of $571.41.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business 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 posted $4.35 EPS. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Profile

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.