Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Purchased by Anchor Capital Advisors LLC

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,392 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,425 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Watsco worth $28,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Watsco by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Watsco by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,275,000 after acquiring an additional 3,570 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSO. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $399.83.

Watsco Stock Up 1.1%

WSO stock opened at $363.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $399.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $381.99. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

About Watsco

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.