Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 2,333 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,440 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.32% of Watsco worth $56,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 242.9% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Watsco from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Watsco from $425.00 to $390.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $422.71.

Watsco Trading Down 1.3%

WSO opened at $354.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $356.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $404.31. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $535.40.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 93.75%.

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.