Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Purchased by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,689 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for approximately 1.4% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC owned approximately 0.54% of Watsco worth $91,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.25.

Watsco Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of WSO traded up $8.03 on Monday, reaching $472.58. 330,911 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,353. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $315.17 and a 12 month high of $474.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $419.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $402.22.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 83.08%.

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.