Swedbank AB Sells 17,225 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Swedbank AB lessened its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 173,787 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 17,225 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.43% of Watsco worth $85,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 48,984.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company's stock worth $114,924,000 after purchasing an additional 233,167 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 62,041 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Watsco by 225.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,610,000 after purchasing an additional 26,911 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,740,000. Finally, EULAV Asset Management raised its stake in Watsco by 98.8% in the 3rd quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 48,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $24,053,000 after purchasing an additional 24,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of Watsco stock traded up $13.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $568.51. 480,529 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 282,354. The stock has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.93 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $501.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $485.95. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco's payout ratio is 83.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $491.25.

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.