Bank of America Corp DE Increases Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 12.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 239,606 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,003 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Watsco were worth $87,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $330.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $374.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $390.61. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $300.66 and a 52-week high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

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.