Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,908 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $8,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 333,348 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $157,970,000 after purchasing an additional 67,649 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,167 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 2,636.7% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 33,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,718,000 after purchasing an additional 31,957 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WSO. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $484.17.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock opened at $409.74 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $397.73 and a 52-week high of $571.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $443.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $468.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 92.02%.

Watsco Profile

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.