Inceptionr LLC Invests $1.18 Million in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,486 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Watsco by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 45,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,417,000 after buying an additional 12,190 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Watsco by 237.5% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,629 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after buying an additional 3,961 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Watsco by 12.2% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 32,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,333,000 after buying an additional 3,592 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 55,692 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,765,000 after buying an additional 16,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crown Oak Advisors LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 26,721 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,004,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSO shares. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $425.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $399.83.

Watsco Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $376.85 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $494.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $400.53 and its 200-day moving average is $383.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27 and a beta of 1.04.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders 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 a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.54%.

About Watsco

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.