Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Purchased by TimesSquare Capital Management LLC

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 74,855 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,780 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $33,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 62.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,329,000 after purchasing an additional 180,951 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,244,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth $573,000. Amundi increased its position in Watsco by 5.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 26,348 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,977,000 after buying an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 13.8% in the second quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 12,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,718,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $353.07 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $344.52 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $380.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $423.84.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research lowered Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $435.00.

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.