Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Acquired by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1,609.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,622 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,176 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 9.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after acquiring an additional 41,845 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $10,446,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in Watsco by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 139,157 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,966,000 after purchasing an additional 18,279 shares during the period. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 97,832 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $497.84 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $499.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $499.12. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $396.82 and a 1 year high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $3.00 dividend. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 90.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $492.00.

Watsco Company 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.