Bank of Montreal Can Trims Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 66.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,162 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 21,810 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 118,763 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $58,417,000 after buying an additional 27,215 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its position in shares of Watsco by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,721 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 12.5% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,700 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Watsco by 1.7% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 22,787 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 33.7% during the third quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 892 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $491.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $543.19 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $507.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $488.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.96 and a beta of 0.92. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $373.33 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.35 EPS. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.46%.

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.