Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stock Position Lifted by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,950 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,742,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $2,516,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $398.00.

Watsco Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $406.76 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $315.17 and a 12 month high of $447.49. The company has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.78 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $398.65.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $2.70 dividend. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.06%.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.