6,993 Shares in Watsco, Inc. $WSO Acquired by SEB Asset Management AB

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,993 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,544,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSO. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Watsco by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 45,756 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,417,000 after acquiring an additional 12,190 shares during the period. Crown Oak Advisors LLC raised its position in Watsco by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC now owns 26,721 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,004,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Watsco by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 166,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,992,000 after purchasing an additional 68,442 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watsco by 1,226.5% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 20,362 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,861,000 after buying an additional 18,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Watsco by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 186,875 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,968,000 after purchasing an additional 72,977 shares during the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Price Performance

WSO opened at $359.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $385.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $393.43. Watsco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.05 and a 1 year high of $493.66. The company has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80 and a beta of 1.02.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last announced its earnings results 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. Watsco had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. Watsco’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Watsco, Inc. will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSO. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Watsco from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Watsco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson started coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Watsco from $370.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $402.71.

Watsco 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.