23,600 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Acquired by Taylor Securities Services Inc.

Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 23,600 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,952,000. Watsco accounts for 3.6% of Taylor Securities Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Taylor Securities Services Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Watsco as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its holdings in Watsco by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 125 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $397.71.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $400.86 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $402.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $385.65. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $494.94. The company has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is an increase 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 3.3%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

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.