Dearborn Partners LLC Invests $32.59 Million in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 89,590 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,592,000. Watsco makes up 1.7% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,877,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $815,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,994,000. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 34,423 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barbara Oil Co. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at $2,052,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE WSO opened at $310.64 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $300.66 and a 52 week high of $459.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $361.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $385.15.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its 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 return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $395.50.

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.