Blue Barn Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Blue Barn Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 492 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 213,689 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $91,559,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,557 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,238,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Lincoln National Corp lifted its position in Watsco by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 728 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Watsco by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $404.25.

Watsco Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:WSO traded down $4.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $467.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 458,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,665. Watsco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $315.17 and a 12 month high of $480.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $421.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $403.06. The company has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.09). Watsco had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $2.70 per share. This represents a $10.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.08%.

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.