Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases Shares of 1,320 Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,320 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSO. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bayban bought a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $418.62 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The company has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $400.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $388.84.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSO has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $397.71.

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.