Carderock Capital Management Inc. Acquires 7,869 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Carderock Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 215.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,519 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bayban purchased a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Up 5.1%

NYSE:WSO opened at $334.27 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $377.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $391.80. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $300.66 and a 52 week high of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 114.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.