Neuberger Berman Group LLC Decreases Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Neuberger Berman Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 482,107 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 42,672 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $194,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.1% in the third quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 454 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Watsco by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,700 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 601 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Capital LLC FL lifted its stake in Watsco by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 6,993 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,827,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $409.00.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $393.87 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $390.40 and a 200 day moving average of $377.99. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $533.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The business’s revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 99.09%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.