HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,029 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Watsco by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 48,984.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,924,000 after buying an additional 233,167 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 2,128.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,880,000 after buying an additional 102,640 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 5.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,357,000 after acquiring an additional 62,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Watsco by 29.7% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 118,763 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,417,000 after acquiring an additional 27,215 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Watsco Trading Up 0.6 %

WSO stock opened at $526.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71 and a beta of 0.92. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $373.33 and a twelve month high of $571.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $510.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $489.89.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.35 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.46%.

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.