Entropy Technologies LP Buys 4,356 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 70.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,552 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,356 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Watsco by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Watsco by 60,779.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,056,000 after purchasing an additional 598,677 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,853,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Watsco by 12,054.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,975,000 after purchasing an additional 171,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 120.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 305,280 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $102,864,000 after purchasing an additional 167,080 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock opened at $380.03 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $401.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $384.30.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $399.83.

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.