King Luther Capital Management Corp Has $39.42 Million Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,986 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 15,696 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.29% of Watsco worth $39,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Watsco by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,286,000 after purchasing an additional 17,820 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 124,789 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,452,000 after purchasing an additional 40,326 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 577.9% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 19,957 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,069,000 after purchasing an additional 17,013 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Watsco by 237.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,629 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Watsco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,392,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $380.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $399.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $381.52. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94. The company has a market capitalization of $15.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59 and a beta of 1.12.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced 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. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.73 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.