Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Has $7.64 Million Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,020 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the quarter. Watsco comprises approximately 1.8% of Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.'s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $242,867,000 after purchasing an additional 477,268 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at $118,312,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth about $104,533,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Watsco by 542.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 110,752 shares of the construction company's stock worth $52,484,000 after acquiring an additional 93,506 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Watsco by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 333,348 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $157,970,000 after acquiring an additional 67,649 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WSO shares. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $484.17.

Watsco Stock Up 0.5%

Watsco stock traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $472.30. The company had a trading volume of 175,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,745. The firm has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $453.34 and a 200-day moving average of $476.89. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $418.31 and a 52 week high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's payout ratio is presently 92.24%.

Watsco 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.