ICW Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 44 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 696 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $450.93 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $415.08 and a 200 day moving average of $400.56. The company has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69 and a beta of 0.86. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $315.17 and a 12 month high of $455.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $2.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

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.