Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Purchases 1,738 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 3.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,917 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Watsco were worth $21,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. First PREMIER Bank acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 100.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Watsco during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 76.2% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 52.6% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 87 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Watsco from $460.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Watsco from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $433.71.

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE:WSO opened at $491.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.83 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $459.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $338.58 and a 1-year high of $520.41.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.70 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 7.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 16th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

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.