Choreo LLC Buys 1,547 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 67.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,840 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC's holdings in Watsco were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,714,586,000 after buying an additional 52,127 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company's stock worth $343,168,000 after acquiring an additional 20,856 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 89,376.0% in 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,470 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $226,268,000 after purchasing an additional 13,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 67,649 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. 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. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $484.17.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO traded up $4.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $489.18. 208,797 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,548. The firm has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $453.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $477.15. 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 issued its 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). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 6.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is 92.24%.

About Watsco

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.