Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $751,000 Investment in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,753 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $751,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,655,946 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $625,484,000 after purchasing an additional 7,723 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,310,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $476,973,000 after buying an additional 9,201 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 770,476 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $291,024,000 after buying an additional 4,997 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $245,013,000 after acquiring an additional 16,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 556,750 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,551,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO traded up $8.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $464.55. The company had a trading volume of 288,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,611. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $419.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $401.98. The company has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.86. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $315.17 and a 1-year high of $466.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSO. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.25.

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.