Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Bought by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 801,152 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 9,141 shares during the quarter. Watsco accounts for about 1.1% of Blair William & Co. IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Blair William & Co. IL owned about 1.99% of Watsco worth $371,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 50.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,188,000 after purchasing an additional 62,593 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,737 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,168,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,062 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,287,000 after buying an additional 28,047 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 878.1% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 310,787 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $133,163,000 after buying an additional 5,949 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $491.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $338.58 and a 12-month high of $520.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $478.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $459.31. The company has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.83 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.71.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.