Blair William & Co. IL Sells 8,056 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its holdings in Watsco, Inc. by 1.0%, now holding 806,656 shares after selling 8,056 shares in the second quarter.
• Watsco reported earnings of $4.52 per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84, while its revenue declined by 3.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, which will be paid on October 31st, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%.

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 806,656 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,056 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for approximately 1.0% of Blair William & Co. IL's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Blair William & Co. IL owned approximately 1.99% of Watsco worth $356,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 906 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 7.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,605 shares of the construction company's stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 76.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 940 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 133.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 844 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $396.53 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $406.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $447.20. The company has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41 and a beta of 0.94. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $378.35 and a 1 year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%.Watsco's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Watsco's payout ratio is 92.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $472.50.

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.

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