Legal & General Group Plc Buys Shares of 94,084 Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 94,084 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,208,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bayban purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $310.89 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $295.75 and a 1 year high of $459.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $355.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $382.50.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $395.50.

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.