Captrust Financial Advisors Purchases 6,034 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 396,514 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors owned about 0.98% of Watsco worth $133,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its stake in Watsco by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 125 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $389.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $401.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $384.89. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.71.

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.