Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,244 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Watsco were worth $46,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSO. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 6.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 612 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 64,758 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth approximately $212,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,083 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Watsco by 4.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,475,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $508.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38 and a beta of 0.92. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $396.82 and a fifty-two week high of $571.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $489.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.31.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Watsco Company Profile

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.