Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 32,258 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 944,086 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 32,258 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 2.33% of Watsco worth $381,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 238 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in Watsco by 7.1% in the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 454 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.7% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,700 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,076,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 6.0% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 601 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.2% during the second quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,638 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $384.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $352.95 and its 200 day moving average is $387.35. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $535.40.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho cut their price target on Watsco from $400.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.14.

Watsco Company Profile

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.