Atala Financial Inc Makes New $49,000 Investment in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 103 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. FMR LLC raised its position in Watsco by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 2,128.1% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after buying an additional 102,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $577,350,000 after buying an additional 65,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 3.4 %

WSO opened at $508.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.38 and a beta of 0.92. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $393.88 and a 52 week high of $571.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $489.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.99.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly 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. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s payout ratio is 81.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

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.