Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 696 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,452 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. Watsco makes up 3.6% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $8,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,782,651,000 after acquiring an additional 346,470 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Watsco by 2,128.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 107,463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,880,000 after buying an additional 102,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Watsco by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after buying an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $511.27 on Tuesday. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $396.82 and a 52 week high of $571.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $490.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $495.62. The firm has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a PE ratio of 38.59 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.25.

Insider Activity at Watsco

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total value of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.