Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.44 Million in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,264 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Watsco by 103.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,559,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $525,634,000 after purchasing an additional 46,799 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $500,572,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $214,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,176 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,056,000 after buying an additional 598,677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:WSO opened at $400.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $402.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $385.65.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.