Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. Invests $13.87 Million in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 33,278 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,868,000. Watsco accounts for approximately 7.0% of Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. owned 0.08% of Watsco as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in Watsco by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after buying an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,559,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $525,634,000 after acquiring an additional 46,799 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 16,595 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,373,000 after acquiring an additional 5,176 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,056,000 after purchasing an additional 598,677 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE WSO opened at $319.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $365.93 and a 200 day moving average of $386.76. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $300.66 and a twelve month high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco 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.