Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 457 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,855 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 148 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Up 2.1 %

WSO stock opened at $509.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $396.82 and a 52 week high of $571.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $496.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $498.92.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 90.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

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.