World Equity Group Inc. Buys New Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

World Equity Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 738 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSO. FMR LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 2,128.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after purchasing an additional 102,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Watsco by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $345,783,000 after purchasing an additional 63,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,041 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $498.12 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $380.58 and a 12-month high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.56.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $495.00.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

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.