Lbp Am Sa Invests $949,000 in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Lbp Am Sa purchased a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,198 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Watsco by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 611 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 267 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Watsco by 4,345.7% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,556 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its holdings in Watsco by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 2,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.71.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In related news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total value of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total transaction of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO traded down $9.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $461.63. 86,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,097. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $481.93 and a 200-day moving average of $441.49. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $337.58 and a 52 week high of $520.41. The stock has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.62 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 3.21.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 83.08%.

Watsco Company 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.