Cerity Partners LLC Sells 2,052 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,580 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,052 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Watsco were worth $4,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 2Xideas AG increased its position in shares of Watsco by 53.5% during the fourth quarter. 2Xideas AG now owns 25,531 shares of the construction company's stock worth $12,099,000 after buying an additional 8,901 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Watsco by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,855 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 260,104 shares of the construction company's stock worth $123,261,000 after acquiring an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $5,342,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,623,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $492.00.

Watsco Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of WSO traded up $9.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $507.62. The stock had a trading volume of 272,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,156. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $500.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.23. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $396.82 and a 12 month high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.31 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco's payout ratio is 90.57%.

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.