Watsco, Inc. $WSO Stock Holdings Raised by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 623,010 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 25,260 shares during the quarter. Watsco makes up 1.5% of Markel Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Markel Group Inc. owned about 1.51% of Watsco worth $188,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth $119,291,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $97,937,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $96,991,000. Caledonia Investments PLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 261,439 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $79,072,000 after acquiring an additional 28,512 shares during the period. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,695,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $311.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $305.93 and a 200-day moving average of $365.12. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $277.34 and a 52-week high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The construction company reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.10 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.31% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 11.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Watsco from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $373.62.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heating systems, refrigeration equipment, replacement parts, and other supplies used by contractors and service professionals.

Watsco distributes products from leading HVAC/R manufacturers, including equipment and components such as air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, thermostats, controls, motors and indoor air-quality products.