Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Sells 6,988 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lessened its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 95.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,988 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after acquiring an additional 146,305 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Watsco by 1.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 801,152 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $371,126,000 after purchasing an additional 9,141 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $286,520,000 after purchasing an additional 11,250 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Watsco by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 393,032 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $182,068,000 after purchasing an additional 6,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 314,543 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $154,717,000 after purchasing an additional 21,649 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Watsco Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE WSO opened at $527.17 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $545.49. The stock has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.74 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $493.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $483.20.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.46%.

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.