Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Purchased by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 1,005.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,143 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,810 shares during the period. Watsco comprises about 0.9% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned about 0.26% of Watsco worth $44,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $536,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $4,070,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,662 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $245,013,000 after buying an additional 16,589 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at $2,516,000. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 295,833 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $126,756,000 after buying an additional 16,006 shares during the period. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSO traded up $5.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $456.08. The company had a trading volume of 236,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,141. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $416.50 and its 200 day moving average is $400.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08 and a beta of 0.86. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $315.17 and a twelve month high of $456.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.25 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WSO shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $404.25.

Watsco Company 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.