Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 342,077 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 31,754 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Watsco were worth $162,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after buying an additional 346,470 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,041 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $345,783,000 after purchasing an additional 63,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $286,520,000 after purchasing an additional 11,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $503.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $485.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.29. The firm has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $388.47 and a 1-year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSO. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

Watsco Company 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.