Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Position Increased by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,705 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $118,312,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $104,533,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Watsco by 542.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 110,752 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $52,484,000 after buying an additional 93,506 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Watsco in a report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $480.83.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock traded up $13.23 on Friday, reaching $492.29. 219,389 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,516. The company has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15 and a beta of 1.11. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.08 and a 12-month high of $571.42. The business's 50 day moving average price is $490.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $497.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The company's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This is a boost from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.24%.

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.