Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys New Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 235,013 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $97,937,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.58% of Watsco as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 45,756 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,417,000 after purchasing an additional 12,190 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $87,166,000 after buying an additional 26,003 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $55,992,000 after buying an additional 68,442 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Watsco by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 186,875 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $62,968,000 after buying an additional 72,977 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Watsco by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,807 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $310.64 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $361.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $385.15. The company has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $300.66 and a 12-month high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $395.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source