Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 7,232 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 466,710 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,232 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 1.16% of Watsco worth $221,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 57.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 90 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSO. Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Down 3.0 %

WSO opened at $477.78 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $496.34 and a 200 day moving average of $499.34. The stock has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.06 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $396.82 and a 52-week high of $571.42.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

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.