BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. cut its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 18.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 795 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 183 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Watsco by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 792,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $342,125,000 after acquiring an additional 16,487 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 1.7% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 566,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $244,603,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Watsco by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 393,032 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $182,068,000 after acquiring an additional 6,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 340,023 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $145,690,000 after purchasing an additional 15,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $456.39 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $480.18 and a 200 day moving average of $454.45. The stock has a market cap of $18.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $338.58 and a 52-week high of $520.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.71.

Watsco Company 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.