Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Acquired by SRS Capital Advisors Inc.

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 108.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 256 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSO. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 5.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $616,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,041 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Watsco by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 9.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after purchasing an additional 63,254 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $286,520,000 after purchasing an additional 11,250 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Watsco Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $501.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $388.47 and a twelve month high of $571.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.80.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.51%.

About Watsco

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.