Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Sold by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc decreased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,720 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,687 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Watsco by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $371.81 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $399.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $382.89. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $494.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

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

Watsco Company Profile

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.