Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,577 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,466 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company's stock worth $616,357,000 after buying an additional 62,041 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $577,350,000 after acquiring an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Watsco by 9.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $345,783,000 after acquiring an additional 63,254 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 2.0% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company's stock worth $286,520,000 after acquiring an additional 11,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 12.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $488.33.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO traded up $5.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $496.92. 204,978 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 201,972. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $373.33 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The company has a market cap of $20.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.40 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $508.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.46%.

Watsco 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.