Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Invests $1.30 Million in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,006 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,299,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 159.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 202 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Alerus Financial NA lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Alerus Financial NA now owns 10,996 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,750,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Watsco by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 581 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total value of $366,759.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total value of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total transaction of $2,487,830.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $404.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO stock traded down $23.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $480.44. 314,952 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 313,680. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $337.58 and a 52 week high of $520.41. The stock has a market cap of $19.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.96 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $480.60 and its 200-day moving average is $438.24.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.1 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th will be issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Watsco Company 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.