Farther Finance Advisors LLC Has $705,000 Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,488 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 752 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Saturna Capital Corp raised its position in Watsco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 3,263 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $279,832,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 126,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $60,125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,728 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $508.47 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $489.58 and its 200-day moving average is $495.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.38 and a beta of 0.92. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $396.82 and a fifty-two week high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. As a group, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 81.51%.

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.