Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Makes New $647,000 Investment in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,600 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Watsco by 89.2% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,286,000 after purchasing an additional 17,820 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 124,789 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,452,000 after buying an additional 40,326 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 237.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,629 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 3,961 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 577.9% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 19,957 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,069,000 after buying an additional 17,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,392,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $370.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Watsco from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $412.00.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO stock opened at $420.00 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $323.05 and a one year high of $533.07. The firm has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.68 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $375.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $378.71.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The construction company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.26). Watsco had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 6.87%.The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. Watsco’s revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 93.75%.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.