Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 9,240 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,884 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 9,240 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.06% of Watsco worth $10,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter worth about $84,826,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 62.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,329,000 after purchasing an additional 180,951 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 106.4% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after purchasing an additional 152,662 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $54,536,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WSO opened at $346.19 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $535.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $353.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $401.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 93.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $422.71.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.