Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Reduces Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lowered its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,797 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 790 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA owned 0.08% of Watsco worth $17,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,714,586,000 after acquiring an additional 52,127 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company's stock worth $343,168,000 after acquiring an additional 20,856 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $279,832,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Watsco by 89,376.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock worth $242,867,000 after purchasing an additional 477,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO traded up $5.38 on Monday, reaching $441.88. 345,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 293,154. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $454.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $479.25. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $418.31 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The firm has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96 and a beta of 1.06.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 17.13%. Watsco's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $485.83.

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.