Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC Has $419,000 Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 785.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 885 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at about $118,312,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,714,586,000 after buying an additional 52,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after buying an additional 41,845 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WSO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.00.

Watsco Stock Down 2.5 %

Watsco stock opened at $497.84 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.82 and a 12-month high of $571.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $499.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 1.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.57%.

Watsco Company 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.