Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires 82 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,299 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $577,350,000 after acquiring an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $504.82 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $393.88 and a 12-month high of $571.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $488.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.83. The company has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly 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. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

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.