Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,056 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,114 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.32% of Watsco worth $55,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Watsco by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 239,606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $87,166,000 after purchasing an additional 26,003 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Watsco by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,992,000 after purchasing an additional 68,442 shares during the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 40.1% in the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 78,012 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,510,000 after purchasing an additional 22,320 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 577,669 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $194,646,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $6,563,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Up 2.1%

WSO stock opened at $315.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $348.10 and a 200-day moving average of $379.18. The company has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $295.75 and a 12-month high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

Watsco 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.