HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,516 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,382 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 151.4% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 86.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 209 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WSO shares. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $399.83.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $367.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $399.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $381.73. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

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.