BankPlus Trust Department Makes New $232,000 Investment in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 489 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,074 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,381,000. World Equity Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Finally, Delta Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $441,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $500.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.77. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $380.58 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were 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. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James initiated 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.00.

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.