Watsco, Inc. $WSO Stake Lifted by Anchor Capital Advisors LLC

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,392 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,425 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $28,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Watsco by 7.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Watsco by 2.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens raised their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $399.83.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $363.32 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $399.05 and its 200-day moving average is $381.99. The company has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.05 and a fifty-two week high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

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.