Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $13.90 Million Stake in Watsco, Inc. $WSO

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) by 45.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,465 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,835 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd owned 0.08% of Watsco worth $13,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Watsco by 115.4% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 89.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:WSO opened at $384.77 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $378.35 and a 12-month high of $571.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $427.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $457.25.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The construction company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.84 by ($0.32). Watsco had a return on equity of 16.96% and a net margin of 7.08%.The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 16th. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Watsco from $445.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Watsco from $455.00 to $450.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $505.00 price objective on Watsco in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $484.17.

Watsco 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.