Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 6,517 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,173 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,517 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Watsco were worth $52,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:WSO opened at $308.82 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $379.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $392.46. The stock has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $300.66 and a 52 week high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stephens upped their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

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.