1,800 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Acquired by SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd.

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,800 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSO. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 710 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Watsco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Watsco by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 783 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE WSO opened at $367.91 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.05 and a 12-month high of $494.94. The company has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $399.55 and its 200-day moving average is $381.73.

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

Watsco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 16th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.