Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Acquired by Parkside Financial Bank & Trust

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 445 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Watsco were worth $191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.5% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,655,946 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $625,484,000 after purchasing an additional 7,723 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,310,201 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $476,973,000 after purchasing an additional 9,201 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 770,476 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $291,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,997 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after purchasing an additional 16,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.2% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 545,750 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $206,141,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $404.25.

Watsco Trading Up 6.5 %

WSO opened at $440.60 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $315.17 and a 52 week high of $451.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $410.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $399.13. The firm has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.36% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.