Dearborn Partners LLC Purchases 11,878 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Dearborn Partners LLC increased its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 13.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,935 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,878 shares during the quarter. Watsco makes up 1.9% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned 0.24% of Watsco worth $39,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,826,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 106.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after acquiring an additional 152,662 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 257.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 97,730 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,512,000 after acquiring an additional 70,394 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 154.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 89,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,355,000 after acquiring an additional 54,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 844.7% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 56,486 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $24,945,000 after purchasing an additional 50,507 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $410.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $378.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $378.81. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $533.07.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 99.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $416.29.

Watsco Profile

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.