Heartland Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,830 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,596 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $14,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 4.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 117.1% during the 2nd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 990 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 105,692 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,676,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 14,659 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,474,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:WSO opened at $419.33 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $372.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $378.49. The stock has a market cap of $17.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $535.40.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.14.

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.