Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Acquired by Choreo LLC

Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,151 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 62.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $331,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 23.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,218 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,244,000 after buying an additional 3,045 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 108,889 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,088,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at approximately $573,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $435.00.

Watsco Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WSO opened at $346.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $366.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $412.85. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $562.56.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%. Sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 93.75%.

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.