Bessemer Group Inc. Has $265,000 Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 78.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 601 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 62.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,329,000 after acquiring an additional 180,951 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,454,512 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $739,088,000 after acquiring an additional 82,977 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,218,000. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 120,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,994,000 after acquiring an additional 54,000 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research cut Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Watsco from $525.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $440.83.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $361.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $386.88 and a 200-day moving average of $429.06. The stock has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 0.94. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.00 and a 52-week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.60 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 93.75%.

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.