Premier Fund Managers Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 0.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,035 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the quarter. Watsco makes up 1.9% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned 0.25% of Watsco worth $50,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WSO. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Watsco by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 725,186 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $343,168,000 after buying an additional 20,856 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Watsco by 89,376.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 477,802 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $242,867,000 after buying an additional 477,268 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Watsco by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,470 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $226,268,000 after buying an additional 13,409 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Watsco by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 333,348 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $157,970,000 after buying an additional 67,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Watsco by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 268,284 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $136,369,000 after buying an additional 8,180 shares in the last quarter. 89.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on Watsco in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Watsco from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watsco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Watsco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $484.17.

Watsco Stock Down 1.7%

Watsco stock opened at $481.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.01 and a beta of 1.04. Watsco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $418.31 and a 52 week high of $571.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $453.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $477.42.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 16th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.24%.

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.