Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases 6,967 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 708.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,950 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,967 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 90.2% during the third quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.9% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 110,160 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,538,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 257.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 97,730 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,512,000 after purchasing an additional 70,394 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 15,977 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,460,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research set a $349.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.14.

Watsco Trading Up 0.8%

WSO opened at $386.91 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.05 and a 12 month high of $535.40. The firm has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $353.94 and a 200 day moving average of $385.61.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The construction company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Watsco had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.04%.The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 93.75%.

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.