Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,331 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,508 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $9,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Watsco in the third quarter worth about $2,065,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after acquiring an additional 65,846 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Watsco by 3.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 103,462 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Watsco by 59.3% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,221 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Watsco by 57.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 90 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $526.81 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $510.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $489.84. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $373.33 and a 52-week high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.71 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $491.25.

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.