Mariner LLC Increases Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Mariner LLC raised its stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,649 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 4th quarter valued at about $118,312,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watsco by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,714,586,000 after acquiring an additional 52,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Watsco by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after acquiring an additional 41,845 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO opened at $504.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $407.00 and a one year high of $571.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $501.79 and a 200 day moving average of $499.61.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WSO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Watsco in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James started coverage on Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $492.00.

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.