Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stake Boosted by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,084 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 256.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,109,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Watsco by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 64,758 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,853,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $491.25.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $554.67 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $373.33 and a one year high of $571.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $504.14 and a 200-day moving average of $486.93. The company has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.35 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued 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 1.95%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

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.