Focus Partners Wealth Raises Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. by 10.5%, now owning 8,524 shares valued at approximately $4.33 million.
• Watsco's latest earnings report revealed earnings per share of $4.52, falling short of analysts' expectations of $4.84, while revenue declined by 3.6% year-over-year.
• Recently, several analysts adjusted their price targets for Watsco, with JPMorgan raising it to $460 and Morgan Stanley setting it at $505.

Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,524 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Watsco were worth $4,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% during the 1st 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 62.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,875 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $238,329,000 after acquiring an additional 180,951 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $54,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,454,512 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $739,088,000 after acquiring an additional 82,977 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,218,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WSO shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $484.17.

Watsco Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE WSO traded up $5.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $389.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 634,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,385. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $425.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $456.53. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $378.35 and a 1 year high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%.The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is 92.02%.

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.