Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT Sells 3,087 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT reduced its stake in Watsco by 33.6%, selling 3,087 shares in Q4 and leaving it with 6,101 shares valued at about $2.06 million, while institutional investors own roughly 89.71% of the stock.
• Watsco beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.87 (vs. $1.73) and revenue of $1.53B (vs. $1.49B) and raised its quarterly dividend to $3.30 (annualized $13.20, 3.2% yield).
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $399.83 price target; the shares trade around $414.97, with a market cap of $16.85 billion and a P/E of 34.44.

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT reduced its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,101 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,087 shares during the quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT's holdings in Watsco were worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Watsco by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Watsco by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $22,275,000 after acquiring an additional 3,570 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Watsco by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,180,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.0% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $414.97 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $398.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $377.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44 and a beta of 1.12. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $496.25.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.Watsco's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSO. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $399.83.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.

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