Vantage Investment Partners LLC Has $55.99 Million Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 70.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 68,442 shares during the period. Watsco makes up about 3.7% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $55,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 151.4% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 86.6% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 209 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $374.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09 and a beta of 1.12. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $494.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $399.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $381.10.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 109.54%.

Key Headlines Impacting Watsco

Here are the key news stories impacting Watsco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised Watsco’s FY2026 EPS estimate to $12.56 from $12.38, suggesting slightly better expected full-year profitability. Watsco research report
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also increased its Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $4.29 from $4.22 and Q1 2027 EPS to $1.92 from $1.89, pointing to stronger near-term earnings expectations. Watsco research report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks slightly lifted its Q2 2027 EPS forecast to $4.75 from $4.74, indicating continued stability in the outlook. Watsco research report
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks kept a Hold rating on Watsco, which does not signal a major change in its overall view of the stock. Watsco research report
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term estimates were trimmed, including FY2027 EPS to $13.70 from $13.83, FY2028 EPS to $14.93 from $15.63, and Q4 2027 EPS to $2.34 from $2.42, which may have weighed on sentiment. Watsco research report
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 2026 EPS was also cut slightly to $4.25 from $4.27, reinforcing the view that analysts see some earnings moderation ahead. Watsco research report

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens raised their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $399.83.

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.