The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,136 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 196 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.05% of Watsco worth $10,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 263.6% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 320,008 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $138,234,000 after purchasing an additional 231,987 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,473,836,000 after buying an additional 146,305 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 50.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,188,000 after acquiring an additional 62,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2,109.5% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 33,120 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,309,000 after acquiring an additional 31,621 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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 lifted their price objective on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.80.

Watsco Trading Down 1.6 %

WSO opened at $484.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $338.58 and a one year high of $520.41. The company has a market cap of $19.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.24 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

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.