AE Wealth Management LLC Sells 7,709 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

AE Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,443 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 7,709 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $13,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $102,958,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 263.6% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 320,008 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $138,234,000 after purchasing an additional 231,987 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the first quarter valued at $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 146,305 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,188,000 after purchasing an additional 62,593 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $489.61 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $338.58 and a 12-month high of $520.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $478.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $460.46.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $447.67.

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.