Heritage Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,116 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $536,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,070,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after purchasing an additional 16,589 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $2,516,000. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 295,833 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $126,756,000 after acquiring an additional 16,006 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO traded up $1.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $452.54. 40,250 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,726. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $416.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $400.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $315.17 and a twelve month high of $455.62. The company has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69 and a beta of 0.86.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.