Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys Shares of 705 Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 705 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSO. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 40,702.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 205,237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,938,000 after buying an additional 204,734 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 120.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 300,059 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $113,338,000 after acquiring an additional 163,915 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Watsco by 111.1% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 292,832 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $110,608,000 after purchasing an additional 154,105 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $64,908,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 351,188 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $132,649,000 after purchasing an additional 96,383 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO opened at $468.75 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $424.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $404.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.06 and a beta of 0.86. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $315.17 and a 1 year high of $480.18.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 83.08%.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.