Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies cut its Watsco stake by 29.1% in the first quarter, selling 88,880 shares and leaving it with 216,400 shares valued at about $78.7 million.
• Watsco reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.87 EPS on $1.53 billion in revenue, both above analyst estimates.
• Wall Street remains cautious on the stock: analysts have a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $402.71, while Watsco also announced a quarterly dividend of $3.30 per share.

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 29.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,400 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 88,880 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.53% of Watsco worth $78,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter valued at about $1,684,000. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 2,810 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 891 shares of the construction company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the construction company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Watsco by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,822 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,665,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WSO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens upped their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $402.71.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $362.43 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $384.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $393.21. The firm has a market cap of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 1.02. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $493.66.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The business 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Watsco Company 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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