Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,669 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $6,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 329.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,298 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,066,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 59.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,046 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 512 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock opened at $495.89 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $396.82 and a 52-week high of $571.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $493.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $496.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly 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. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. 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 2.18%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

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.