Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 2,022 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. by 2.3%, now holding 86,910 shares valued at approximately $44.2 million.
• Watsco reported quarterly earnings of $4.52 per share, falling short of analysts' expectations, along with a 3.6% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, reflecting a 2.7% dividend yield, with a high payout ratio of 92.24%.

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,910 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,022 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Watsco worth $44,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 89,376.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock worth $242,867,000 after buying an additional 477,268 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $104,533,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Watsco by 542.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 110,752 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $52,484,000 after purchasing an additional 93,506 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Watsco by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 333,348 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $157,970,000 after purchasing an additional 67,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 134.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 62,400 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,571,000 after acquiring an additional 35,800 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSO. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $484.17.

Watsco Stock Up 0.4%

WSO traded up $1.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $427.28. 99,294 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,803. The business's 50 day moving average is $451.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $475.99. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $418.31 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The stock has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%. Watsco's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.02%.

Watsco Company Profile

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.