Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,234,136 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 185,703 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 3.06% of Watsco worth $607,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 48,984.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $114,924,000 after purchasing an additional 233,167 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,473,836,000 after acquiring an additional 146,305 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 225.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $16,610,000 after acquiring an additional 26,911 shares during the period. Finally, Interval Partners LP bought a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth $11,740,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO traded down $2.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $534.53. 79,620 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 284,429. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $486.19 and a 200-day moving average of $480.35. The firm has a market cap of $21.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.49 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $372.63 and a one year high of $540.23.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.46%.

About Watsco

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.