Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $5.47 Million Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,532 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,357,000 after buying an additional 62,041 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Watsco by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after acquiring an additional 65,846 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after acquiring an additional 63,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 2.0% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $286,520,000 after acquiring an additional 11,250 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WSO stock opened at $494.93 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.25 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $505.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.17.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

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.