Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 93.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 47,042 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,742 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $15,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 151.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth about $74,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens boosted their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $399.83.

Watsco Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:WSO opened at $367.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $399.55 and a 200 day moving average of $381.73. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.