Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC Makes New $966,000 Investment in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,319 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 496 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $313.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $356.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $383.01. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $295.75 and a 12 month high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. DA Davidson cut their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $395.50.

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.