Truist Financial Corp Cuts Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,843 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 21,115 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Watsco were worth $10,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank raised 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 valued at $2,094,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,217 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3,571.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 64,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,853,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Watsco Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WSO opened at $515.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.91 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $484.99 and a 200-day moving average of $491.92. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $377.92 and a 52 week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The company 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

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.