Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 12,291 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 278,036 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,291 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of Watsco worth $122,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 115.4% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 242.9% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of WSO opened at $336.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $371.55 and its 200 day moving average is $417.45. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $571.41. The stock has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30 and a beta of 0.93.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm 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%. On average, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 93.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Mizuho dropped their price target on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $435.00.

Watsco 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.