Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Position Raised by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,391 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,601 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.26% of Watsco worth $50,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Watsco by 57.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 90 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Watsco in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $495.00.

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock traded down $17.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $498.12. The company had a trading volume of 286,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,613. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $380.58 and a 12-month high of $571.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $484.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 7.04%. As a group, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend 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 related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.86% of the company's stock.

About Watsco

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.