3,795 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Purchased by OP Asset Management Ltd

OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,795 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,381,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in Watsco by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Watsco by 5.2% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE WSO opened at $410.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.70 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $401.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $388.38.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $397.71.

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.