Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,545 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,854 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.05% of Watsco worth $9,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,188,000 after buying an additional 62,593 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,737 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,062 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,287,000 after acquiring an additional 28,047 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 878.1% during the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Watsco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 310,787 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $133,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $447.67.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $489.61 on Friday. 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 market cap of $19.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $338.58 and a 12 month high of $520.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $478.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.57.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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 year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

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.