Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,855 Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,855 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Watsco in the second quarter valued at $1,305,000. Commerce Bank bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,874,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $376,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $78,695,000. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $390,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WSO. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $310.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $361.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $385.15. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $300.66 and a one year high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.