Wolverine Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,200 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in Watsco by 32.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 3,571.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Watsco by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 64,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,853,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Watsco by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,590 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,645,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Down 3.3 %

WSO opened at $498.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $484.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $492.16. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $380.58 and a twelve month high of $571.41. The company has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $2.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 81.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watsco news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of Watsco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.21, for a total transaction of $5,589,293.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WSO shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.00.

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.