Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Has $3.03 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,405 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,357,000 after buying an additional 62,041 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $345,783,000 after acquiring an additional 63,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $286,520,000 after buying an additional 11,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $488.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Watsco Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WSO opened at $483.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $501.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.98. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $373.33 and a 1-year high of $571.41.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

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.