United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,041 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,517,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,564,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356,998 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 202.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,102,000 after purchasing an additional 316,129 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $119,291,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,937,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 0.7%

WSO stock opened at $310.89 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $295.75 and a 1-year high of $459.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $355.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $382.50.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WSO shares. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

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.