Arkadios Wealth Advisors Sells 36 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors trimmed its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 608 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Watsco were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $616,357,000 after buying an additional 62,041 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after acquiring an additional 65,846 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after acquiring an additional 63,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 2.0% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $286,520,000 after acquiring an additional 11,250 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $497.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $505.82 and a 200-day moving average of $492.91. The stock has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.48 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $373.33 and a 52-week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 83.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $488.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 12.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.