Citigroup Inc. Purchases 13,850 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 59.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,239 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,850 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.10% of Watsco worth $14,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSO. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 105,561.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,494,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $372,616,000 after buying an additional 1,492,636 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,643,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 1,635.4% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $97,202,000 after buying an additional 240,122 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Watsco by 15.6% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,337,398 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $425,507,000 after buying an additional 180,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Watsco by 68.5% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 408,090 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $129,838,000 after buying an additional 165,831 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $375.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, July 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $326.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Watsco from $305.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $373.78.

Watsco Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE WSO opened at $390.23 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $368.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $359.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.89. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.38 and a 52 week high of $406.08.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The construction company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 8.14% and a return on equity of 22.66%. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 17th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.69%.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. 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.