Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,994 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 863 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company's stock worth $649,957,000 after acquiring an additional 118,713 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Watsco by 5.9% during 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 boosted its stake in Watsco by 9.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,714,586,000 after purchasing an additional 52,127 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Watsco Stock Up 8.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WSO traded up $37.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $500.56. The stock had a trading volume of 388,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,954. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.82 and a 12-month high of $571.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $495.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $498.81.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.75 billion during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.57%.

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.