D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 339 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,520 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.5% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,655,946 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $625,484,000 after acquiring an additional 7,723 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,310,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $476,973,000 after acquiring an additional 9,201 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 770,476 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $291,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,997 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after acquiring an additional 16,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 556,750 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $238,551,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total value of $366,759.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $838,714.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director John Alexander Macdonald sold 5,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.41, for a total value of $2,487,830.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.85, for a total value of $366,759.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $838,714.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.25.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $479.46 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $315.17 and a 1 year high of $488.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 36.88 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $442.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $413.90.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

Watsco Company Profile

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.