Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Purchased by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,462 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 3,152 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.26% of Watsco worth $50,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Watsco by 209.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,379 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,619,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,018 shares of the construction company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,109,000. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC raised its position in Watsco by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the construction company's stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $491.25.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock traded up $3.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $526.81. The company had a trading volume of 167,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,006. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $510.23 and a 200 day moving average of $489.82. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $373.33 and a 12 month high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a PE ratio of 40.71 and a beta of 0.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Watsco's payout ratio is presently 83.46%.

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.