15,750 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Bought by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,750 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,563,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,842 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Watsco by 38.9% during the second quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,739 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 40.1% during the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 78,012 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,510,000 after buying an additional 22,320 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the second quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 32.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $312.65 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $300.66 and a one year high of $459.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $369.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $388.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 6.53% and a return on equity of 14.40%. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $395.50.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.