Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stake Lessened by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance lessened its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,364 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,742,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $2,516,000. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in Watsco by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,298 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $413.33 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.20 and a 1 year high of $447.49. 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $409.11 and a 200-day moving average of $397.98.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 79.06%.

About Watsco

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.