Watsco, Inc. $WSO Holdings Lifted by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 171,864 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,692 shares during the quarter. Watsco makes up approximately 4.3% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $62,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens raised their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $402.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO traded up $6.53 on Friday, reaching $384.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 268,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,500. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $494.94. The company has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $393.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $391.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

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.