Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315,347 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,956 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.78% of Watsco worth $139,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSO. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter worth $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 115.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $435.00.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $350.66 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $383.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40 and a beta of 0.93. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $350.00 and a one year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.60 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 93.75%.

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.