Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 96,362 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 353,849 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 96,362 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.88% of Watsco worth $167,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 5.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,738 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company's stock worth $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $10,446,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 139,157 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $65,966,000 after buying an additional 18,279 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock traded down $5.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $472.63. 419,381 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,042. The stock has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $396.82 and a 1 year high of $571.42. The firm's 50 day moving average is $496.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.24.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.57%.

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.