Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the construction company's stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 754 shares of the construction company's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,686 shares of the construction company's stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 7,692 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,645,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Watsco by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 1,949 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSO shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $486.67.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO stock traded up $2.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $447.84. 56,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,102. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $477.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.53. The firm has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80 and a beta of 1.11. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $430.20 and a 1-year high of $571.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. This is a boost from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco's payout ratio is presently 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.