Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC Increases Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 15.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,024 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the first quarter worth about $229,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,429 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $246,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in Watsco by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 19,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,997,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares during the last quarter. 89.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $335.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $375.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Watsco from $326.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, July 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $373.78.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $390.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.89. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.38 and a fifty-two week high of $406.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $359.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The construction company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.07. Watsco had a net margin of 8.14% and a return on equity of 22.66%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 17th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.69%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. 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.