Alps Advisors Inc. Purchases 19,475 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Alps Advisors increased its Watsco holdings by 27.4% in the third quarter, buying 19,475 shares to reach 90,496 shares valued at about $27.4 million.
• Watsco reported quarterly EPS of $3.77, missing analysts’ $4.10 estimate, while revenue of $2.22 billion slightly beat expectations and rose 7.4% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $373.62. Watsco also paid a $3.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.3% yield at the cited share price.

Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 27.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,496 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 19,475 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Watsco worth $27,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Watsco by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 239,606 shares of the construction company's stock worth $87,166,000 after purchasing an additional 26,003 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 76.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,875 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,949,000 after purchasing an additional 5,147 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Watsco by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 50,125 shares of the construction company's stock worth $20,889,000 after buying an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,731,000. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the third quarter worth about $2,458,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $303.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84 and a beta of 1.03. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $277.34 and a 1-year high of $459.00. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $305.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $364.09.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The construction company reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.10 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.21 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 6.31%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 11.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Watsco from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised Watsco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have 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 an average target price of $373.62.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc NYSE: WSO is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heating systems, refrigeration equipment, replacement parts, and other supplies used by contractors and service professionals.

Watsco distributes products from leading HVAC/R manufacturers, including equipment and components such as air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, thermostats, controls, motors and indoor air-quality products.

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