Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Takes $1.01 Million Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,980 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,714,586,000 after buying an additional 52,127 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $343,168,000 after purchasing an additional 20,856 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 89,376.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $242,867,000 after purchasing an additional 477,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSO. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.67.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock opened at $444.46 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $489.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $430.20 and a 1 year high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

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

Watsco 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.