J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,074 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. FMR LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 5.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $616,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,041 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Watsco by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Watsco by 9.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after purchasing an additional 63,254 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in Watsco by 2.0% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $286,520,000 after purchasing an additional 11,250 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.00.

Watsco Trading Down 3.3 %

Watsco stock opened at $498.12 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $484.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.56. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $380.58 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $20.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 12.86% of the company’s stock.

Watsco 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.