LGT Group Foundation Boosts Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

LGT Group Foundation boosted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 7.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,477 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Watsco were worth $7,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSO. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Watsco by 100.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watsco by 76.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.71.

Watsco Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $455.58 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $338.58 and a twelve month high of $520.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.04 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $479.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.46.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.42 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.