Simplicity Wealth LLC Invests $813,000 in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,951 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trivium Point Advisory LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the second quarter worth about $273,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,376,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $153,000. Finally, Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,604,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE WSO opened at $312.65 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $300.66 and a 12 month high of $459.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $369.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $388.24. The stock has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 114.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Watsco from $385.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley raised 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, July 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.