River Road Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 57.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,809 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,004 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC's holdings in Watsco were worth $2,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $649,957,000 after acquiring an additional 118,713 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Watsco by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company's stock worth $577,350,000 after acquiring an additional 65,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company's stock worth $345,783,000 after buying an additional 63,254 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Loop Capital increased their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $486.25.

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Watsco Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of WSO opened at $506.39 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $393.88 and a 52-week high of $571.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $487.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $494.76. The company has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22 and a beta of 0.92.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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