Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,571 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,530,000. Watsco makes up about 1.0% of Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,639 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,415,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 611 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Watsco by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,138 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO stock traded up $10.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $434.28. The stock had a trading volume of 228,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,094. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $399.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $390.86. Watsco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $298.79 and a 1-year high of $441.29. The stock has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The construction company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 21.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 17th were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WSO. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Watsco from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Watsco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $387.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Friday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watsco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $396.00.

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.