Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $45.53 Million Stock Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 328.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 135,131 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,589 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $45,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH raised its holdings in Watsco by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH now owns 1,527 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 1,962 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Watsco by 97.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 3,699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Watsco Stock Performance

NYSE WSO opened at $380.03 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $401.03 and a 200-day moving average of $384.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 1.05. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $323.05 and a 52 week high of $494.94.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were paid a $3.30 dividend. This is an increase from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Watsco’s payout ratio is 109.54%.

About Watsco

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.