4,556 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Bought by Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,556 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson set a $385.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.71.

Watsco Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $383.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $401.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $384.59.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. 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. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 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.