Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Purchased by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Watsco stake by 12.2% in the first quarter, owning 239,606 shares valued at approximately $87.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 89.71% of Watsco’s shares.
• Watsco’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with earnings of $4.00 per share versus the $4.41 consensus estimate and revenue of $2.10 billion versus $2.14 billion expected. Revenue nevertheless rose 2.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $395.50 target price. Watsco also declared a quarterly dividend of $3.30, representing an annualized $13.20 payout and a 4.0% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 239,606 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,003 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.59% of Watsco worth $87,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the construction company's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company's stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,633,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Stephens lifted their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $395.50.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $330.14 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $300.66 and a one year high of $459.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $374.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $390.61.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Watsco's payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Watsco Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.

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