CENTRAL TRUST Co Reduces Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 13.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Watsco were worth $155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 48,984.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $114,924,000 after purchasing an additional 233,167 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 263.6% during 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 buying an additional 231,987 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 4.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after acquiring an additional 146,305 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 50.9% in the first 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. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $475.90 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $340.52 and a 1 year high of $520.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $482.01 and a 200 day moving average of $474.15. The firm has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.61 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday.

About Watsco

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.