Welch & Forbes LLC Buys 1,293 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Welch & Forbes LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 213,689 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares during the quarter. Watsco accounts for 1.4% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $91,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 75 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSO shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.25.

Watsco Price Performance

NYSE WSO traded up $8.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $472.58. The company had a trading volume of 330,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 343,353. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $315.17 and a 52 week high of $474.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $419.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $402.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.86.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.08%.

Watsco Company Profile

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.