LRI Investments LLC Raises Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3,068.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 507 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $102,958,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Watsco by 263.6% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 320,008 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $138,234,000 after acquiring an additional 231,987 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter worth $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1,005.1% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 103,143 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,194,000 after purchasing an additional 93,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $433.71.

Watsco Stock Up 1.5 %

WSO stock opened at $485.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $338.58 and a 12 month high of $520.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $481.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.49.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

About Watsco

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.