Quantbot Technologies LP Buys New Shares in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 9,259 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after buying an additional 346,470 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 48,984.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,924,000 after purchasing an additional 233,167 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $90,714,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 29.7% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 118,763 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,417,000 after buying an additional 27,215 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of WSO opened at $550.50 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $501.60 and a 200 day moving average of $485.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 83.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSO. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $491.25.

About Watsco

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.