Ascent Group LLC Has $6.86 Million Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1,226.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,362 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,827 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC owned 0.05% of Watsco worth $6,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 741.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,285,895 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $924,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014,233 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Watsco by 12,054.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,975,000 after acquiring an additional 171,654 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 106.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 296,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,801,000 after acquiring an additional 152,662 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Watsco by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 470,177 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,293,000 after acquiring an additional 113,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Watsco by 257.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 97,730 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,512,000 after acquiring an additional 70,394 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO opened at $370.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $392.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $373.33. The firm has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $518.00.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $409.00.

Watsco Company 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.