Creative Planning lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,156 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 411 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Watsco were worth $787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSO. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 13.2% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the first quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Watsco by 2.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,429 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in Watsco in the first quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in Watsco by 9.1% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 19,121 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,997,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.73% of the company’s stock.
Watsco Trading Up 1.0 %
Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $348.36 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $220.68 and a 1 year high of $356.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $328.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.82.
Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The construction company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.58. Watsco had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 8.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Watsco Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 17th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 14th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.89%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens upped their target price on Watsco from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Watsco from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Watsco from $269.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on Watsco from $315.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $354.14.
About Watsco
Watsco, Inc engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. Its products include residential central air conditioners, gas, electric & oil furnaces, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, and other specialized equipment and parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors and other component parts and supplies, including thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies.