Regents Gate Capital LLP Sells 16,282 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Regents Gate Capital LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 91.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,605 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 16,282 shares during the period. Regents Gate Capital LLP's holdings in Watsco were worth $816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,714,586,000 after purchasing an additional 52,127 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $343,168,000 after purchasing an additional 20,856 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $279,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $242,867,000 after purchasing an additional 477,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,470 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $226,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,409 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:WSO traded up $6.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $479.83. The company had a trading volume of 131,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,527. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $418.31 and a 52 week high of $571.42. The firm has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $453.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $477.27.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's payout ratio is 92.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $484.17.

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.