Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 47.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,793 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,816 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $4,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Watsco by 30.6% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 94 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Watsco by 2.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 952 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Watsco by 27.8% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,166 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $491.25.

Watsco Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE WSO opened at $554.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.87 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $373.33 and a 1-year high of $555.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $499.99 and a 200-day moving average of $485.16.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 6.99%. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. 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 1.95%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.