Inceptionr LLC Buys Shares of 3,486 Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,486 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $376.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $494.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $400.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $383.62.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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