Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,150 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,996 shares during the quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Watsco by 741.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $924,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014,233 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Watsco by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 16,595 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,293,000 after purchasing an additional 113,333 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $163,936,000 after purchasing an additional 47,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 390,480 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $157,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $409.00.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $370.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $392.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $373.33. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $518.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58 and a beta of 1.06.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.