Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 10,179 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management sold 10,179 shares of Watsco, cutting its stake by 51.3% to 9,653 shares, which were worth about $3.25 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Other large investors ramped up exposure—Capital International now holds 2,285,895 shares (up ~2.01M) valued at $924.2M and M&T Bank boosted to 599,662 shares (up ~598,677)—with institutional ownership at 89.71%.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $399.83 while the stock trades around $429.56; Watsco recently raised its quarterly dividend to $3.30 (annual $13.20, yield 3.1%) and reported quarterly EPS and revenue beats.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 51.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,653 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,179 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Watsco by 741.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $924,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014,233 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $500,572,000 after buying an additional 16,595 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $202,056,000 after buying an additional 598,677 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $159,293,000 after buying an additional 113,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $163,936,000 after buying an additional 47,643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSO. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $399.83.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $429.56 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50-day moving average is $398.25 and its 200 day moving average is $377.09. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $496.25.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. Watsco's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.54%.

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.

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.