Watsco, Inc. $WSO Stock Position Increased by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,864 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,692 shares during the quarter. Watsco accounts for about 4.3% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC owned 0.42% of Watsco worth $62,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 45,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,417,000 after buying an additional 12,190 shares during the period. Dudley & Shanley Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 55,692 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,765,000 after acquiring an additional 16,322 shares during the period. Crown Oak Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 26,721 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,004,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Watsco by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,293,000 after acquiring an additional 113,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Global Management LP bought a new position in Watsco in the third quarter valued at about $2,591,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $402.71.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO stock traded up $6.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $384.26. 268,315 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,500. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $393.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $391.03. The company has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89 and a beta of 1.02. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

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.