Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 22.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 92,715 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 26,940 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $42,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSO. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 87 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO opened at $475.42 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $338.58 and a 12-month high of $520.41. The company has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.57 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $480.65 and its 200 day moving average is $453.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

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.