Cynosure Group LLC Purchases 1,818 Shares of Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Cynosure Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 223.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,632 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Watsco by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,275,000 after buying an additional 3,570 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Watsco by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Watsco by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. DA Davidson set a $385.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $397.71.

Watsco Trading Up 0.9%

WSO stock opened at $383.93 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $401.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $384.59. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

Watsco 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.