Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 132 Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 132 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSO. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Watsco by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 185,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $80,188,000 after purchasing an additional 62,593 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,737 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,168,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 12.4% in the 4th 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. American National Bank raised its stake in Watsco by 878.1% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Watsco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 310,787 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $133,163,000 after acquiring an additional 5,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 1.2 %

WSO stock opened at $476.71 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $338.58 and a 12 month high of $520.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $458.65.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. Watsco’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.71.

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.