CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 119 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,861 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.12% of Watsco worth $19,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. First PREMIER Bank bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $490.64 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $337.58 and a 1-year high of $520.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $481.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $438.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.1 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $410.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total value of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Watsco

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.