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May 17, 2023

Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 855 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO - Get Rating) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,043 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Watsco worth $9,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Watsco by 18.1% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,852 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 29.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 16,952 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,748,000 after acquiring an additional 3,870 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $1,583,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $3,494,000,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the fourth quarter worth $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.73% of the company's stock.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Watsco from $315.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Watsco in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Stephens lifted their price objective on Watsco from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Watsco from $269.00 to $289.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $354.14.

Watsco stock opened at $324.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 0.91. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.68 and a 12-month high of $356.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.64.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO - Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The construction company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.90 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 17th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 14th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Watsco's payout ratio is currently 63.89%.

Watsco, Inc engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. Its products include residential central air conditioners, gas, electric & oil furnaces, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, and other specialized equipment and parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors and other component parts and supplies, including thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies.

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