Blair William & Co. IL Grows Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 801,152 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,141 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for approximately 1.1% of Blair William & Co. IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Watsco were worth $371,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank purchased a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 87 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $491.81 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $338.58 and a one year high of $520.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $478.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.31. The firm has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.83 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.