Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 13,457 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its Watsco stake by 9.5%, selling 13,457 shares and retaining 128,444 shares valued at approximately $53.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.71% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $395.50; individual targets range from $330 to $485.
• Watsco reported quarterly earnings of $4.00 per share, below the $4.41 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 2.1% year over year to $2.10 billion. Shares opened at $310.89, and the company’s annualized dividend is $13.20 per share, yielding about 4.2%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lessened its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 128,444 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 13,457 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.31% of Watsco worth $53,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Watsco by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,564,423,000 after buying an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 202.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $159,102,000 after acquiring an additional 316,129 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the second quarter valued at $119,291,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth about $97,937,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $395.50.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $310.89 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $355.05 and its 200 day moving average is $382.50. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $295.75 and a one year high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.48%.

Watsco Company Profile

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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