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

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,333 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,390 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Watsco were worth $8,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Watsco by 32.2% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 2,128.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company's stock worth $52,880,000 after purchasing an additional 102,640 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,446,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Trading Down 3.2 %

WSO stock traded down $15.60 on Friday, hitting $476.92. The company had a trading volume of 167,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,391. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.82 and a 12-month high of $571.42. The stock has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $496.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.36.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. Research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is an increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco's payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSO. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $486.25.

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.