MCF Advisors LLC Buys 35 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 150 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 345,020 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $163,502,000 after buying an additional 30,477 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Watsco by 879.8% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 921 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,783 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $488.33.

Watsco Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE WSO opened at $505.84 on Thursday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $373.33 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $506.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.03 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid 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 2.14%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is 83.46%.

Insider Transactions at Watsco

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

Watsco 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.