Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Has $9.16 Million Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 84.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,185 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 142,000 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $9,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bayban bought a new position in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $393.45 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $494.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $392.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $391.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.66 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $402.71.

Watsco Company Profile

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.