World Equity Group Inc. Buys Shares of 738 Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

World Equity Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 738 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 57.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 90 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Watsco Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $498.12 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $484.75 and its 200-day moving average is $492.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.95. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $380.58 and a 12-month high of $571.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. Analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 81.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $495.00.

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.