Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $3.33 Million Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA trimmed its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 22.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,769 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,931 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings 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 worth $371,126,000 after buying an additional 9,141 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 571,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $264,626,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Watsco by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 393,032 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $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 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 owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $492.48 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $478.06 and its 200-day moving average is $466.94. 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 52 week low of $338.58 and a 52 week high of $520.41. The firm has a market cap of $19.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.88 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.