Flputnam Investment Management Co. Takes $7.38 Million Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 17,699 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,376,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 4.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Watsco by 95.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 7.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,275,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,180,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $312.65 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $369.74 and a 200-day moving average of $388.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $300.66 and a 12 month high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted 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). Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

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

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.