M&T Bank Corp Lowers Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 18.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,381 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Watsco were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,714,586,000 after purchasing an additional 52,127 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $343,168,000 after acquiring an additional 20,856 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $242,867,000 after acquiring an additional 477,268 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,470 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $226,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,409 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 333,348 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $157,970,000 after acquiring an additional 67,649 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WSO. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $484.17.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $474.76 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $418.31 and a 1 year high of $571.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $453.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $476.82. The stock has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 92.24%.

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.