Avanza Fonder AB Purchases 6,516 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Avanza Fonder AB raised its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 167.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,402 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,516 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 454 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Watsco by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 601 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL increased its stake in Watsco by 0.5% in the third quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 6,993 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,827,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 4.7% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 4.2% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 948 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $409.00.

Watsco Trading Down 5.6%

WSO opened at $363.52 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $521.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $395.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $375.06. The company has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.