Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys New Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,700 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 148 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in 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 research firms have recently commented on WSO. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $480.83.

Watsco Price Performance

Watsco stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $478.93. The company had a trading volume of 188,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 253,421. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $490.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $497.03. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.08 and a 1 year high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.15 and a beta of 1.11.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $1.66 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is a boost from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.