Sanctuary Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,026 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 40.6% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3,571.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 64,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $495.00.

Watsco Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $498.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $484.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.16. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $380.58 and a twelve month high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.51%.

Insider Transactions at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Watsco Profile

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.