EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSO. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after buying an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 2,128.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after buying an additional 102,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after buying an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 12.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Watsco Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $504.82 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $393.88 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $488.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $494.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.25.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.