Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 520 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA reduced its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,387 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 520 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 100.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 76.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 52.6% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 87 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday.

Watsco Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE WSO opened at $475.90 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $340.52 and a one year high of $520.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.61 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $482.01 and its 200-day moving average is $473.54.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

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.