Brown Advisory Inc. Has $4.37 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 28.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,898 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 62.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,329,000 after buying an additional 180,951 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $331,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Watsco by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 108,889 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 16,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,244,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter worth approximately $573,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $435.00.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO opened at $340.64 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $535.40. The firm has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $361.03 and its 200-day moving average is $406.50.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.75%.

Watsco Company 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.