Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Increases Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 251,529 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 12,896 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.62% of Watsco worth $119,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Watsco by 6.9% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 902 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 2,289 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 11.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Watsco by 1.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,168 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,985,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.5% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,145 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $493.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $388.47 and a 1-year high of $571.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $485.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $493.65.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

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.