Truist Financial Corp Decreases Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Truist Financial Corp reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,629 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,179 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.09% of Watsco worth $12,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 0.7%

WSO opened at $428.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59 and a beta of 1.12. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $496.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $399.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $378.37.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $399.83.

Watsco Company 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.