GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes $962,000 Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,955 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $962,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the second quarter worth $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 76.2% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Watsco in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Watsco by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Watsco stock traded down $5.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $520.74. 142,510 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,428. The business has a 50-day moving average of $492.47 and a 200-day moving average of $482.23. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $373.33 and a 1 year high of $545.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.24 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. Watsco's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Watsco's payout ratio is 83.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.