Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Bought by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 34.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 906 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $228,263,000 after acquiring an additional 41,845 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 674 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,178 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 373 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $449.43 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $430.20 and a 1 year high of $571.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $470.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $489.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92 and a beta of 1.06.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.36). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 92.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Watsco from $475.00 to $455.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.67.

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.