Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 635,958 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,704 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Watsco were worth $272,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Watsco by 11.6% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 31,887 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 9.6% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,979 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Watsco by 71.2% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,942 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,718 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,701,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total transaction of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of WSO opened at $486.48 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $456.84 and its 200 day moving average is $424.51. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $337.58 and a fifty-two week high of $491.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.42 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.08%.

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.