Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,695 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $10,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 39.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,773 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,246,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth about $527,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 15.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,215 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,868,000 after buying an additional 2,373 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Watsco Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of WSO opened at $543.06 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $373.33 and a twelve month high of $545.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.97 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $489.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $481.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.46%.

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.