Watsco, Inc. $WSO Stock Holdings Increased by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 219.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,462 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 40,182 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Watsco were worth $19,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 4.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 95.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,297 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 7.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,442 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,275,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 2.8% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.0% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $371.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $398.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $382.67. The company has a market cap of $15.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The construction company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 6.85%.The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. Watsco’s payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WSO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens upped their target price on Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $425.00 target price on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Watsco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $399.83.

Watsco Company Profile

Watsco, Inc is the largest distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment, parts and supplies in the United States. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company operates a network of more than 600 branches across the continental U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Watsco serves residential and commercial contractors by providing essential components for climate control systems, including air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, coils, refrigerants, controls and electrical and piping supplies.

Founded in 1947, Watsco has grown from a single regional distributor into an industry leader through a combination of organic expansion, acquisitions and strategic partnerships with original equipment manufacturers such as Carrier, Trane, Goodman and Lennox.