Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 45,972 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2,882.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,567 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 45,972 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.12% of Watsco worth $17,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bayban bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $393.45 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $392.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $391.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 business posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be issued a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $402.71.

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.