1,739 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Acquired by Intrinsic Value Partners LLC

Intrinsic Value Partners LLC bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,739 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 89.2% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,286,000 after buying an additional 17,820 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 47.7% during the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 124,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,452,000 after buying an additional 40,326 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 577.9% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 19,957 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,069,000 after buying an additional 17,013 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 237.5% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,629 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 3,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth approximately $1,392,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $409.00.

Watsco Trading Up 1.0%

WSO opened at $382.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $518.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $392.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $373.14.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.00%.

Watsco Company 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.