Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $7.38 Million Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2,090.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,699 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,891 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Watsco by 76.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,949,000 after purchasing an additional 5,147 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 4,804 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,793 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,917,000 after buying an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $107,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $420,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $310.89 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $295.75 and a 12-month high of $459.00. The company has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $355.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $382.50.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 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 firm 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. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

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

Watsco 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.