Watsco, Inc. $WSO Position Boosted by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,645 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 2,366.7% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. UBS Group started coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Stephens increased their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $399.83.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $437.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.32 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $323.05 and a 1-year high of $496.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $398.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $376.93.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 109.00%.

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.