Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,434 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 11,497 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.22% of Watsco worth $41,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Watsco by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company's stock worth $228,263,000 after buying an additional 41,845 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,446,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in Watsco by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 139,157 shares of the construction company's stock worth $65,966,000 after buying an additional 18,279 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 97,832 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $46,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO traded up $11.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $472.80. 230,959 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,777. The company has a 50 day moving average of $494.54 and a 200-day moving average of $497.65. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.08 and a 12 month high of $571.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68 and a beta of 1.11.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This is a boost from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSO. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $480.83.

Watsco 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.