Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Has $3.22 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,555 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $3,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Watsco by 1.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 71,298 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,799,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 2.0% during the first quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 25,730 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,115,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 2,109.5% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 33,120 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $14,309,000 after buying an additional 31,621 shares in the last quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new position in Watsco during the first quarter valued at about $1,200,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Watsco by 6.9% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,565,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Up 0.8 %

Watsco stock opened at $479.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 3.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $482.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $474.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $343.04 and a 52 week high of $520.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.16 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be paid a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 83.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. raised their target price on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

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.