Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 19.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,899 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 694 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Watsco were worth $1,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,714,586,000 after purchasing an additional 52,127 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company's stock worth $343,168,000 after purchasing an additional 20,856 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% in 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 2.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Watsco by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 333,348 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $157,970,000 after acquiring an additional 67,649 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $471.33 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $453.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $476.89. The firm has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $418.31 and a twelve month high of $571.42.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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