Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Purchases 1,133 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 23.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,977 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,133 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Watsco by 50.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,188,000 after acquiring an additional 62,593 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,737 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 255,062 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,287,000 after acquiring an additional 28,047 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $751,000. Finally, American National Bank raised its position in Watsco by 878.1% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WSO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $433.71.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $475.39 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $480.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $446.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.57 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $337.58 and a 12-month high of $520.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.