National Pension Service Cuts Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

National Pension Service decreased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,300 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.13% of Watsco worth $25,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 0.7% during the third quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 754 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 373 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $503.80 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $388.47 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $485.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.42. The company has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Watsco Company 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.