Verity & Verity LLC Purchases Shares of 1,359 Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,359 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Watsco by 30.6% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Watsco during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Watsco

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSO. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $488.33.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $496.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $508.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.31. The firm has a market cap of $20.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.40 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $373.33 and a 1 year high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.97 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

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.