Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Bought by Simon Quick Advisors LLC

Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 808 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the second quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 27.8% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $488.33.

Watsco Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of WSO opened at $497.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $505.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.91. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. Watsco’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.03 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Watsco’s dividend 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.