Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Bought by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 902 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Watsco were worth $444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 48,984.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,924,000 after acquiring an additional 233,167 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 263.6% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 320,008 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $138,234,000 after buying an additional 231,987 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Watsco during the first quarter valued at about $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 146,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Watsco by 225.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,610,000 after buying an additional 26,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 5.8 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $516.34 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.26 and a 1-year high of $520.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $481.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $477.52.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

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.