Inspire Investing LLC Lowers Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,365 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $102,958,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 263.6% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 320,008 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $138,234,000 after acquiring an additional 231,987 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 146,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,188,000 after acquiring an additional 62,593 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $447.67.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $486.54 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $338.58 and a 52 week high of $520.41. The company has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $478.52 and a 200-day moving average of $459.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.42 EPS. The company’s 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.