Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Buys 4,487 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,146 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,487 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for about 1.3% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Baskin Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Watsco by 2.7% in the third quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 71,189 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,782,000 after buying an additional 1,845 shares in the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 10,737 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,341,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 454 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Balefire LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $363,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 150,033 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,233,000 after purchasing an additional 6,525 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $422.71.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $348.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $352.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $400.86. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $535.40.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 93.75%.

Watsco Company 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.