Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $3.24 Million Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,557 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in Watsco by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 728 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 9,630 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth $751,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSO. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.25.

Watsco Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WSO traded down $4.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $467.96. The company had a trading volume of 458,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,665. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $421.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $403.06. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $315.17 and a 12 month high of $480.18. The stock has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

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.