Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,795 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,603 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $6,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the second quarter valued at $84,826,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 106.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after acquiring an additional 152,662 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Watsco by 154.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 89,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,355,000 after purchasing an additional 54,053 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 120,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,994,000 after purchasing an additional 54,000 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 844.7% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 56,486 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,945,000 after purchasing an additional 50,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSO. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $415.57.

Watsco Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of WSO opened at $375.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $535.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $347.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $391.35.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.