Baillie Gifford & Co. Has $520.37 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,098,081 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 136,055 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 2.72% of Watsco worth $520,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 346,470 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 233,167 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 2,128.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company's stock worth $52,880,000 after buying an additional 102,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 63,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of WSO traded up $3.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $515.53. The stock had a trading volume of 379,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,479. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $377.92 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The company has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a PE ratio of 38.91 and a beta of 0.95. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $484.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $491.75.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.61% and a net margin of 7.04%. Equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco's payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $495.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.