Watsco, Inc. $WSO Stock Bought by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 623,010 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,260 shares during the period. Watsco accounts for about 1.5% of Markel Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $188,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $96,991,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth $119,291,000. Caledonia Investments PLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 12.2% in the third quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 261,439 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $79,072,000 after buying an additional 28,512 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $97,937,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 22,985.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 205,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,051,000 after buying an additional 204,112 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSO. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Watsco from $350.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Watsco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $373.62.

Watsco Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of WSO stock opened at $311.69 on Wednesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $277.34 and a 1-year high of $459.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $305.93 and a 200-day moving average of $365.12.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The construction company reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.10 by ($0.33). Watsco had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 6.31%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 11.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.61%.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc (NYSE: WSO) is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment and related products. The company supplies residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heating systems, refrigeration equipment, replacement parts, and other supplies used by contractors and service professionals.

Watsco distributes products from leading HVAC/R manufacturers, including equipment and components such as air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, thermostats, controls, motors and indoor air-quality products.