First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Purchases 1,763 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 194.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,669 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.2% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,848 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 98.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 795 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 120,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,994,000 after purchasing an additional 54,000 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 18.1% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 398 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 0.9% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 14,659 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,474,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $362.01 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.00 and a 52-week high of $571.41. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $393.13 and its 200-day moving average is $436.22.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Watsco from $425.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has 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 a consensus target price of $447.50.

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.