Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Bought by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390,480 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Watsco were worth $157,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 741.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $924,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014,233 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth $84,826,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Watsco by 12,054.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,975,000 after purchasing an additional 171,654 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Watsco by 106.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after purchasing an additional 152,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Watsco by 257.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 97,730 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,512,000 after purchasing an additional 70,394 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock opened at $381.66 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $521.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $394.63 and a 200-day moving average of $375.87.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company’s revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 99.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price objective on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $409.00.

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.