Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Acquired by 1834 Investment Advisors Co.

Key Points

• 1834 Investment Advisors more than doubled its Watsco stake in the third quarter, purchasing 4,678 additional shares for a total holding valued at approximately $2.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.71% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Watsco has a consensus “Hold” rating, with seven Holds, two Buys and one Sell. Recent price-target cuts brought the consensus target to $373.62, while shares opened at $295.54.
• Watsco’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting $4.00 in EPS versus the $4.41 consensus and revenue of $2.10 billion versus $2.14 billion expected. The company declared a $3.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.5% annualized yield.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 102.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,241 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,678 shares during the quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Watsco by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 239,606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $87,166,000 after acquiring an additional 26,003 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Watsco by 76.5% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,875 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,949,000 after purchasing an additional 5,147 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $5,731,000. Amundi boosted its position in Watsco by 5.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 50,125 shares of the construction company's stock worth $20,889,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $4,459,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Watsco from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Watsco from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Watsco from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.62.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $295.54 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $307.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $360.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 1.06. Watsco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $277.34 and a 52-week high of $459.00.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc NYSE: WSO is a distributor of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and commercial contractors with air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, refrigeration systems, indoor air-quality products, controls, replacement parts and other installation supplies.

Watsco serves the replacement and new-construction markets through a network of distribution centers, branches, showrooms and e-commerce platforms. Its customers primarily include HVAC and refrigeration contractors, dealers and other industry professionals, while its products are sourced from major manufacturers and distributed under leading industry brands.

Founded in 1956, Watsco has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions to become one of the largest HVAC and refrigeration distributors in North America.

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