Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 87 Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 87 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 233,167 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at about $90,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,894 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,836,000 after purchasing an additional 146,305 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 225.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,610,000 after purchasing an additional 26,911 shares during the period. Finally, Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,740,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Performance

Watsco stock opened at $543.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a PE ratio of 41.97 and a beta of 0.88. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $373.33 and a one year high of $545.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $489.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $481.42.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a $2.70 dividend. 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 1.99%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

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.