Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $1.62 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 22.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,499 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,473,836,000 after acquiring an additional 146,305 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Watsco by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 792,011 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $342,125,000 after buying an additional 16,487 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 571,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $264,626,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Watsco by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 393,032 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $182,068,000 after buying an additional 6,320 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 340,023 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $145,690,000 after acquiring an additional 15,552 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $489.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $338.58 and a 1-year high of $520.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $478.69 and its 200-day moving average is $461.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $447.67.

Watsco 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.