Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,017 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,832 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,017 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $8,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 6.1% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 686 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 133.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,675 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $404.14.

Watsco Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $425.13 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $367.20 and its 200 day moving average is $379.62. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $535.40. The company has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 93.75%.

About Watsco

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.