Xponance Inc. Increases Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,913 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Watsco Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $495.89 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $493.43 and a 200 day moving average of $496.13. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $396.82 and a 52 week high of $571.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Watsco Profile

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.