Natixis Advisors L.P. Lowers Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Natixis Advisors L.P. reduced its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,251 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,628 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.30% of Watsco worth $51,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 38.3% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,813 shares of the construction company's stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ lifted its holdings in Watsco by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 2,265 shares of the construction company's stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,511 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,370,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Watsco by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,660 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,293,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 3,882 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $404.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO traded up $8.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $464.55. The company had a trading volume of 288,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,611. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $315.17 and a 12 month high of $466.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $419.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $401.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

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.