Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $7.38 Million Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2,090.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,699 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,891 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,559,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,634,000 after purchasing an additional 46,799 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Watsco by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,238,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $500,572,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Watsco by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $211,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $310.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $355.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $382.50. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $295.75 and a 52-week high of $459.00. The company has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.