Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Lowers Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Watsco (NYSE: WSO): Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA trimmed its position by 7.3% in Q4, selling 2,443 shares and holding 31,126 shares worth $10.49M, while overall institutional ownership remains high at 89.71% with several large funds (Capital International, M&T Bank, Two Sigma) markedly increasing stakes.
• Q4 results missed expectations: Watsco reported EPS of $1.68 vs. the $1.94 consensus and revenue of $1.58B (vs. $1.62B expected), with revenue down 9.9% year-over-year.
• Dividend increase: Watsco raised its quarterly dividend to $3.30 (annualized $13.20) for a ~3.1% yield, with an ex-dividend date of April 16 and a payout ratio of 109%.

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA cut its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,126 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,443 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA owned 0.08% of Watsco worth $10,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Watsco by 741.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company's stock worth $924,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014,233 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $202,056,000 after purchasing an additional 598,677 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 12,054.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,975,000 after purchasing an additional 171,654 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 106.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $130,801,000 after purchasing an additional 152,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $159,293,000 after purchasing an additional 113,333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $432.51 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $496.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 35.72 and a beta of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average price is $395.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $374.75.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.53 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This is an increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. Watsco's payout ratio is currently 109.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight 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 $409.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WSO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.