Bank of Nova Scotia Has $315,000 Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 60.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 665 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Watsco were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Watsco during the 4th quarter worth about $118,312,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Watsco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watsco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,957,000 after buying an additional 118,713 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,618,109 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,714,586,000 after acquiring an additional 52,127 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 464,061 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $228,263,000 after acquiring an additional 41,845 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watsco Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $510.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.54 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $396.82 and a twelve month high of $571.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $498.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $499.13.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Watsco had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 17.59%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WSO shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $492.00.

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.