AE Wealth Management LLC Sells 22,726 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

AE Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 92.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,780 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 22,726 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Watsco by 17.6% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 320 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Watsco by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,683 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,414,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Watsco by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 666 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Watsco by 70.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 337 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $435.00.

Watsco Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $345.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $378.97 and a 200-day moving average of $422.78. The company has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 0.93. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $344.51 and a 52 week high of $571.41.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend 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.