Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 75,839 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,604,000. Watsco accounts for approximately 2.5% of Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 4.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Watsco by 95.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 7.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,275,000 after acquiring an additional 3,570 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.8% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,180,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $395.50.

Watsco Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WSO opened at $312.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $300.66 and a 12 month high of $459.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $388.24.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

About Watsco

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.