144,050 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Purchased by Corient Private Wealth LP

Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 144,050 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,024,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayban bought a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE WSO opened at $313.60 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $295.75 and a twelve month high of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $356.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $383.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. Watsco’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 114.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

Watsco 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.