Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 184 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,555 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WSO. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock opened at $467.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 0.86. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $315.17 and a 1 year high of $480.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $422.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $403.91.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The company 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%. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 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.