Watsco, Inc. $WSO is Redmond Asset Management LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Redmond Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 77.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,897 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,042 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for approximately 2.6% of Redmond Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Redmond Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $10,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 638,014 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,373,000 after buying an additional 5,176 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 1,869.2% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 112,601 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,941,000 after buying an additional 106,883 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 84.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 2,383 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 264.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $399.83.

Watsco Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:WSO opened at $381.27 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $494.94. The company has a market cap of $15.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $400.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $381.73.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.54%.

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.