AIA Group Ltd Lowers Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

AIA Group Ltd decreased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,817 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,519 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 108 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 98 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $396.00.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO traded down $1.44 during trading on Thursday, reaching $402.50. The stock had a trading volume of 118,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,759. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $314.87 and a one year high of $447.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.36. The stock has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $409.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $398.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 79.06%.

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.