Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stock Holdings Decreased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,158 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 758 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after buying an additional 146,305 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Watsco by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 801,152 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $371,126,000 after acquiring an additional 9,141 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 0.9% during 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 boosted its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 340,023 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $145,690,000 after purchasing an additional 15,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock opened at $498.46 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $478.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $463.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.34 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. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $338.58 and a 1 year high of $520.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current 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 issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.80.

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.