National Bank of Canada FI Buys 754 Shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,499 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Watsco were worth $2,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Watsco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $118,312,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $63,603,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Watsco by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,957,000 after acquiring an additional 118,713 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Watsco by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,173,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,350,000 after acquiring an additional 65,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $345,783,000 after acquiring an additional 63,254 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Watsco from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Watsco from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.25.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSO opened at $472.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 1.00. Watsco, Inc. has a one year low of $396.82 and a one year high of $571.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $496.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $499.24.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The construction company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.70. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Watsco’s payout ratio is currently 90.57%.

Watsco Company Profile

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.