Citigroup Inc. Sells 65,808 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,538 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 65,808 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.07% of Watsco worth $11,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 2,366.7% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted 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. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 4,700.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 1,300.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group started coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $409.00.

Watsco Stock Up 1.6%

Watsco stock opened at $417.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $384.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $378.31. The company has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47 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 posted 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). Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

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

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.