Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Hamlin Capital Management LLC

Hamlin Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 304,324 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 33,011 shares during the quarter. Watsco accounts for about 2.9% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned about 0.75% of Watsco worth $126,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSO. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Watsco by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,056,000 after buying an additional 598,677 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 202.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,102,000 after buying an additional 316,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 12,054.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,975,000 after buying an additional 171,654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $333.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $300.66 and a 1 year high of $459.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $376.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $391.46.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 114.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $395.50.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.