Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,058 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,372 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Watsco by 741.4% during 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. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Watsco by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 16,595 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Watsco by 60,779.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 599,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,056,000 after acquiring an additional 598,677 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,293,000 after acquiring an additional 113,333 shares during the period. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $163,936,000 after buying an additional 47,643 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $374.58 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $399.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $381.24. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $494.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09 and a beta of 1.12.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Key Headlines Impacting Watsco

Here are the key news stories impacting Watsco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised Watsco’s FY2026 EPS estimate to $12.56 from $12.38, suggesting slightly better expected full-year profitability. Watsco research report
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased its Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $4.29 from $4.22 and Q1 2027 EPS to $1.92 from $1.89, pointing to stronger near-term earnings expectations. Watsco research report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks slightly lifted its Q2 2027 EPS forecast to $4.75 from $4.74, indicating continued stability in the outlook. Watsco research report
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks kept a Hold rating on Watsco, which does not signal a major change in its overall view of the stock. Watsco research report
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term estimates were trimmed, including FY2027 EPS to $13.70 from $13.83, FY2028 EPS to $14.93 from $15.63, and Q4 2027 EPS to $2.34 from $2.42, which may have weighed on sentiment. Watsco research report
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 2026 EPS was also cut slightly to $4.25 from $4.27, reinforcing the view that analysts see some earnings moderation ahead. Watsco research report

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.