Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO – Free Report) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 167,185 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,185 shares during the quarter. Watsco comprises approximately 2.0% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.41% of Watsco worth $56,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Watsco by 741.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $924,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014,233 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Watsco by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% during the fourth 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. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,293,000 after buying an additional 113,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 13.3% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $163,936,000 after buying an additional 47,643 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WSO shares. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens lifted their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $399.83.
Watsco Stock Performance
WSO opened at $417.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $399.74 and a 200-day moving average of $379.44. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $494.94.
Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Watsco Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 109.54%.
Watsco 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.
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