Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Grows Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 29.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,736 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,216 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned 0.49% of Watsco worth $80,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 14.9% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 742 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Watsco by 4.2% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at $284,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 339.7% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 642 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $409.00.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $368.69 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $521.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $393.73 and a 200 day moving average of $376.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 1.03.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.Watsco’s revenue was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.09%.

Watsco 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.