Howland Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management reduced its Watsco stake by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,251 shares and leaving it with 83,861 shares valued at about $28.3 million.
• Watsco’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, reporting $1.87 EPS versus the $1.73 consensus and revenue of $1.53 billion, slightly above estimates.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $3.30 per share from $3.00, lifting the annualized payout to $13.20 and the dividend yield to about 3.5%.

Howland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,861 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 7,251 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for 1.1% of Howland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Howland Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Watsco worth $28,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company's stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 4.7% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the construction company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $399.83.

Watsco Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $380.03 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $401.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $383.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is a boost from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.54%.

Watsco 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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