GAMMA Investing LLC Has $242.87 Million Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 89,376.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 477,802 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 477,268 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 1.18% of Watsco worth $242,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,714,586,000 after buying an additional 52,127 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $343,168,000 after buying an additional 20,856 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $279,832,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,470 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $226,268,000 after acquiring an additional 13,409 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $486.67.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO traded down $8.89 during trading on Monday, hitting $434.68. 278,104 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,622. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $430.25 and a twelve month high of $571.42. The company has a market cap of $17.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.81 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $480.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.47.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This is an increase from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is 92.24%.

Watsco Company 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.