Ethic Inc. Acquires 533 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,705 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after purchasing an additional 41,845 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $10,446,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its position in Watsco by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 139,157 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,966,000 after buying an additional 18,279 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 97,832 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 674 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 1.7%

Watsco stock opened at $484.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $491.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $497.29. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.08 and a twelve month high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54 and a beta of 1.11.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $480.83.

About Watsco

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.