Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,823 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shaker Investments LLC OH boosted its holdings in Watsco by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 7,564 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 293 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 87 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,603 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $500.25 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $338.58 and a fifty-two week high of $520.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $478.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.18. The company has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $447.67.

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.