Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 5,592 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 624.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,487 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 5,592 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 151.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 86.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 209 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $380.65 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $494.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $399.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $381.52. The company has a market cap of $15.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59 and a beta of 1.12.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Watsco Company 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.