Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,281 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 0.5% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,557,610 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $791,734,000 after purchasing an additional 7,760 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco by 6.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,454,512 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $739,088,000 after purchasing an additional 82,977 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Watsco by 5.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 814,712 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $414,118,000 after purchasing an additional 43,776 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,428 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $252,335,000 after buying an additional 18,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 62.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,329,000 after buying an additional 180,951 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $366.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $401.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $442.81. The company has a market capitalization of $14.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14 and a beta of 0.94. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $361.57 and a 1-year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 16.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $505.00 to $460.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $472.50.

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.