Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stock Position Raised by Mattern Capital Management LLC

Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 22.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,004 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,188,000 after buying an additional 62,593 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,737 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,062 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,287,000 after acquiring an additional 28,047 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank boosted its stake in Watsco by 878.1% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Watsco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 310,787 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $133,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.71.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $453.88 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $479.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $338.58 and a 1 year high of $520.41. The stock has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 83.08%.

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.