Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Decreases Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC cut its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 762 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,473,836,000 after buying an additional 146,305 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 792,011 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $342,125,000 after purchasing an additional 16,487 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.9% in the second quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 571,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $264,626,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 4.8% during the 4th 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. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.71.

Watsco Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $461.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $478.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $456.99. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $338.58 and a 52-week high of $520.41.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

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.