Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Raises Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,700 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,188,000 after acquiring an additional 62,593 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,737 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Watsco by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,062 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,287,000 after buying an additional 28,047 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 878.1% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 310,787 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $133,163,000 after buying an additional 5,949 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $476.71 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $338.58 and a 1 year high of $520.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $458.21. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.67 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.42 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

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.