Fox Run Management L.L.C. Purchases New Holdings in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 971 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 6.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,454,512 shares of the construction company's stock worth $739,088,000 after buying an additional 82,977 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Watsco by 5.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 814,712 shares of the construction company's stock worth $414,118,000 after purchasing an additional 43,776 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 4.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 496,428 shares of the construction company's stock worth $252,335,000 after purchasing an additional 18,958 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 351,271 shares of the construction company's stock worth $178,551,000 after acquiring an additional 6,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $484.17.

Watsco Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $414.21 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $447.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $471.35. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $403.01 and a 12-month high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco's 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.

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