B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Cuts Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,333 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,390 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Watsco were worth $8,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $118,312,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after acquiring an additional 118,713 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 2,128.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after acquiring an additional 102,640 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $500.42 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $396.82 and a 1-year high of $571.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $496.12 and a 200-day moving average of $498.74. The company has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.77 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

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.