Bridges Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,887 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $874,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 101,381 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,964,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 495.1% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 10,730 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,971,000 after buying an additional 8,927 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Watsco during the second quarter worth about $308,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Watsco by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 801,152 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $371,126,000 after buying an additional 9,141 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,499 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $447.67.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO opened at $489.61 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $338.58 and a one year 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 company has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $460.46.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.42 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.08%.

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.