Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,453 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter worth about $536,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,070,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,516,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Watsco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after buying an additional 16,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 295,833 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $126,756,000 after buying an additional 16,006 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $404.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $467.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.00 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $403.91. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $315.17 and a fifty-two week high of $480.18.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

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.