B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 600 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,721 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,737 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,168,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,062 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $109,287,000 after purchasing an additional 28,047 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $751,000. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $536,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,070,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 0.9 %

WSO opened at $491.01 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $460.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $426.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $337.58 and a one year high of $493.65.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total transaction of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $838,714.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.25.

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.