Allstate Corp Purchases New Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,010 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 57.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 90 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on 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 assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock opened at $511.19 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $396.82 and a one year high of $571.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $496.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.26. The firm has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.58 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. Sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.51%.

About Watsco

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.