MQS Management LLC Invests $344,000 in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 699 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watsco by 48,984.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,643 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $114,924,000 after buying an additional 233,167 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter worth $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Watsco by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after acquiring an additional 146,305 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Watsco by 225.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,610,000 after purchasing an additional 26,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $11,740,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:WSO opened at $525.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $373.33 and a twelve month high of $545.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $491.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $481.73.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.