188,840 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Purchased by Findlay Park Partners LLP

Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 188,840 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,695,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after buying an additional 2,356,998 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 202.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,102,000 after purchasing an additional 316,129 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,937,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Watsco by 12,054.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,078 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,975,000 after purchasing an additional 171,654 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $395.50.

Watsco News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Watsco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its EPS forecast for Q1 2027 to $1.93 from $1.92 and Q1 2028 to $2.05 from $1.93. Its FY2028 estimate also increased to $15.26 from $14.93, suggesting analysts still see longer-term earnings growth potential. Watsco stock information
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm maintained estimates of $13.53 EPS for FY2027 and $15.26 for FY2028, while its current full-year consensus reference stands at approximately $12.43 per share. The revisions indicate a mixed outlook rather than a broad change in the long-term investment thesis.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut its FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.21 from $12.56 and lowered Q3 2026 EPS to $4.21 from $4.29 and Q4 2026 EPS to $2.13 from $2.15. These reductions point to softer near-term earnings expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Estimates were also reduced for Q2 2027 to $4.61 from $4.75, Q3 2027 to $4.65 from $4.69, and FY2027 to $13.53 from $13.70. The repeated cuts may weigh on sentiment, particularly because Watsco already trades at a meaningful earnings multiple despite its recent earnings miss.

Watsco Trading Down 0.9%

Watsco stock opened at $311.57 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $300.66 and a 1 year high of $459.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $363.17 and a 200-day moving average of $385.73.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

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

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.