Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp cut its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,682 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,350 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 0.33% of Watsco worth $53,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $84,826,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 106.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $130,801,000 after acquiring an additional 152,662 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 257.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 97,730 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,512,000 after acquiring an additional 70,394 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 154.2% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 89,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,355,000 after purchasing an additional 54,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Watsco by 844.7% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 56,486 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,945,000 after acquiring an additional 50,507 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $412.00.

Watsco Stock Down 0.7%

Watsco stock opened at $420.00 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $375.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $378.71. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $533.07. The stock has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.68 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 93.75%.

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.