Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Has $1.43 Million Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 285.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,011 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSO. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in Watsco by 9.9% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 7,800 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,837,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 644 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,037 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,985,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its holdings in Watsco by 1.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 14,996 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,378,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Watsco by 8.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,888 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WSO stock opened at $498.19 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $383.06 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $484.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.99.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 81.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.00.

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.