JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 27,765 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 315,625 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 27,765 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.78% of Watsco worth $127,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Watsco by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 11,516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,656,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.1% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,686 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,938,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 21.4% in the third quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 573 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 14.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,139 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $410.23 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $378.09 and a 200 day moving average of $378.18. The company has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $533.07.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company’s revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 99.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $416.29.

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.