Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stock Holdings Lifted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 653.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,446 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,723 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Watsco were worth $2,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 105,561.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,494,050 shares of the construction company's stock worth $372,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492,636 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $69,643,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 1,635.4% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,805 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $97,202,000 after acquiring an additional 240,122 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 40,702.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 205,237 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $87,938,000 after acquiring an additional 204,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Watsco by 120.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 300,059 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $113,338,000 after acquiring an additional 163,915 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $396.00.

Watsco Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WSO traded down $5.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $396.93. The company had a trading volume of 343,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,365. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $398.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $315.17 and a 1 year high of $447.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06 and a beta of 0.90.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.44). Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Watsco's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.06%.

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.