Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $2.17 Million Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,582 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 39 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Watsco by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after buying an additional 346,470 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,957,000 after purchasing an additional 118,713 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after purchasing an additional 65,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after purchasing an additional 63,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 590,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry S. Logan sold 10,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 12.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Loop Capital increased their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Watsco in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $508.47 on Monday. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $396.82 and a 1 year high of $571.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $489.58 and a 200-day moving average of $495.31.

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

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.51%.

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.