Gotham Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,076 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,448 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Watsco worth $12,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $1,753,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,714 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,707,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,705 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,502,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSO. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Watsco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $480.83.

Watsco Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WSO traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $478.93. 188,104 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,421. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $490.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $497.03. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.08 and a 12-month high of $571.42. The stock has a market cap of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.15 and a beta of 1.11.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

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