Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Stake Boosted by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,888 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Watsco by 30.6% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 952 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 27.8% during the third 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 period. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Watsco by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 293 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in Watsco by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Watsco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WSO stock opened at $474.05 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $359.59 and a 1 year high of $520.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 3.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $481.62 and its 200-day moving average is $475.41. The stock has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.63 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued 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 2.28%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 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.