Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Buys New Shares in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,272 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 100.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 76.2% during 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 during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Watsco by 30.6% during the third 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. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Watsco by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO traded up $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $537.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,261. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $372.63 and a fifty-two week high of $540.02. The company has a market capitalization of $21.69 billion, a PE ratio of 41.49 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $486.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.35.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.46%.

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.