Swiss National Bank Acquires 6,840 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,484 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,840 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.25% of Watsco worth $37,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bayban acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $402.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $362.18 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $494.94. The company has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $393.35.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.54%.

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.