Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,127 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Watsco worth $1,714,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. FMR LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 2,128.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,880,000 after buying an additional 102,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Watsco by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after buying an additional 65,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO opened at $513.40 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $396.82 and a one year high of $571.42. The company has a market cap of $20.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $495.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $497.75.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. As a group, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

Watsco Profile

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.