Riverbridge Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Riverbridge Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 89.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,738 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,328 shares during the period. Watsco comprises 1.2% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned about 0.32% of Watsco worth $47,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 9.7% during the first quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 125,107 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,040,000 after purchasing an additional 11,103 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in Watsco by 211.0% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 3,405 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Watsco by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 608 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Taylor Securities Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE WSO opened at $387.01 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $401.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $386.58. The stock has a market cap of $15.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSO. DA Davidson started coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $397.71.

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.