Waldron Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 621 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 108 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Watsco by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 98 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $413.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $16.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $409.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $397.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.20 and a fifty-two week high of $447.49.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.44). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 21.36% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 79.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $396.00.

Watsco Company Profile

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.