Quantinno Capital Management LP Raises Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 61.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,306 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 8,881 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned about 0.06% of Watsco worth $8,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of Watsco by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 1,734 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp bought a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter valued at about $322,000. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the first quarter valued at about $1,128,000. Wealth Alliance LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 5.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 2,237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $814,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boreal Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 16.1% in the first quarter. Boreal Capital Management LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WSO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

Watsco Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $334.27 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $300.66 and a 52-week high of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $391.80.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 114.48%.

Watsco Company 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.