Watsco, Inc. $WSO Shares Purchased by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 91.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,907 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,076 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $5,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 125 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WSO opened at $400.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $402.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $385.65. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $323.05 and a twelve month high of $494.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $397.71.

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.