Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 3,131 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,305,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Watsco by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,642,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,564,423,000 after buying an additional 2,356,998 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Watsco during the fourth quarter worth $110,853,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watsco by 202.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 472,182 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $159,102,000 after acquiring an additional 316,129 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 2nd quarter valued at $97,937,000. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new position in Watsco in the second quarter valued at about $78,695,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Watsco

Here are the key news stories impacting Watsco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its EPS forecast for Q1 2027 to $1.93 from $1.92 and Q1 2028 to $2.05 from $1.93. Its FY2028 estimate also increased to $15.26 from $14.93, suggesting analysts still see longer-term earnings growth potential. Watsco stock information
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm maintained estimates of $13.53 EPS for FY2027 and $15.26 for FY2028, while its current full-year consensus reference stands at approximately $12.43 per share. The revisions indicate a mixed outlook rather than a broad change in the long-term investment thesis.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut its FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.21 from $12.56 and lowered Q3 2026 EPS to $4.21 from $4.29 and Q4 2026 EPS to $2.13 from $2.15. These reductions point to softer near-term earnings expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Estimates were also reduced for Q2 2027 to $4.61 from $4.75, Q3 2027 to $4.65 from $4.69, and FY2027 to $13.53 from $13.70. The repeated cuts may weigh on sentiment, particularly because Watsco already trades at a meaningful earnings multiple despite its recent earnings miss.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $311.57 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $363.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $385.72. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $300.66 and a fifty-two week high of $459.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Watsco had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.53%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Watsco in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $400.00 price target on Watsco in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $395.50.

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.