Carnegie Investment Counsel Purchases 1,772 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,712 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Watsco were worth $10,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.1% in the first quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,539 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Watsco by 2,882.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 47,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,304,000 after buying an additional 45,972 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,169 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $211,787,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Watsco by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 171,864 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,522,000 after acquiring an additional 5,692 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in Watsco by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $384.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89 and a beta of 1.02. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $323.05 and a 52-week high of $494.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $393.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $391.34.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Watsco

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.