LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 40.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,900 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Breakwater Capital Group boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 520 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,127 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth $364,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 906 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 58,405 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,687,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $480.00.

Watsco Stock Up 1.1%

Watsco stock opened at $415.70 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $378.35 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $410.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $448.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 92.02%.

Watsco Company 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.