Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Acquired by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,804 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,538 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 2.8% during 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 grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 12.0% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $397.71.

Watsco Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of WSO opened at $400.86 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $494.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $402.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $385.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.54%.

Watsco Company 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.