Intrepid Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,558 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Intrepid Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 82.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 736 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,558 shares during the period. Intrepid Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $118,312,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Watsco by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 9.9% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $511.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $496.49 and its 200 day moving average is $499.26. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $396.82 and a 52 week high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

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.